Destiny Fulfilled
by Isinglass Queen
Summary: After Ep VIII: Rey and Ben are still connected by the Force, and now they must chose between loyalty to their allies and the feelings for each other they no longer can deny, even if it's safer not to analyze them. The whole galaxy can be affected by the choices they make.
1. Chapter 001: Nowhere

**A/N: This is my version of what could happen after episode VIII. I loved the way RJ wrote Rey/Kylo storyline and I simply cannot wait until next December to see it unfold :) Hope you'll like my fanfic - please let me know in your comments what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: None of the characters or locations belong to me, unless stated otherwise. No copyright infringement intended :)**

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Chapter 001: Nowhere

In Rey's dreams he always died. Night after night. Time after time. The light of the explosion had blinded them and threw them across the throne room as if they were weightless, two marionettes of the Force. When she had come around, when she had run up to him, he was dead. She touched his cold neck, searching for pulse, but she already knew this version of events – life wasn't there.

The moment dragged itself endlessly and Rey could just about hear something collapsing within her. An awful, nauseating sound, as if her heart was falling to pieces, ripping out the veins and crushing the organs.

It was her fault, what had happened. She had instigated this carnage, she hadn't made him turn and now he was dead.

Rey woke up drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath. Some nights screaming, others just silently crying. It always took her good few moments to shake the nightmare off and to remember that the unfamiliar, grim surroundings were of a cheap room she had rented in one of the hotels of Five Points Station.

After the narrow escape from Crait, the remaining members of the Resistance had decided to take cover in the Five Point System, insignificant and largely forgotten part of The Outer Rim. They split amongst the five planets of the system, but they knew it was just a temporary measure – the planets were uninhabited for a reason.

"It's a fair place to wait out the worst", Leia had said and decided she would stay on Falcon with Chewie, while the rest of the rebels would go separate ways for a while. Rey had watched general Leia command the tiny group of rebels with calm confidence. She admired Leia, even if she found it difficult to imagine how can one person bear so much grief and not only not completely break down, but take responsibility for others. Last thing she'd heard from Leia was that Falcon would hole up on the surface of one of the larger asteroids drifting around the planets and, for some reason, this hade made both Leia and Chewie share a little laugh. It had been a sad laugh, though. Rey had known better than to ask why.

Now she was sitting on her bed, face wet from the tears, the heaviness in her chest slowly receding. She knew it was silly to panic this much about a dream that wasn't even true. He was alive. Alive and well. _Very well_ , in fact.

Ruling the goddamned galaxy.

Every time she thought about him, Rey felt immense anger overcoming her. Which meant she was angry a lot, because she just couldn't focus on anything else. The nightmares didn't particularly help either.

When she had dreamt it the very first time, still on Millennium Falcon, she'd woken up screaming and scaring the hell out of mostly everyone on board. She'd looked around frantically, barely recognising the familiar faces of her friends and burst out crying.

"Rey! Rey, what's happened?" Finn asked. He kneeled next to her bedroll, his sincere face full of worry. Even in the state of shock the nightmare had put her into, Rey had known she couldn't tell Finn – or anyone else, for that matter – that dreaming of the mighty Kylo Ren dying aboard The Supremacy had made her cry. "Just a nightmare about, you know, war and all," she said and forced a smile. Technically, it wasn't even a lie.

After dreaming it eleven more times (yes, she counted. She couldn't help it. She'd always been counting days, ever since she could remember, so – why stop now? Nights instead of days, what's the difference? Nightmares instead of disappointments, so what?), Rey was still just as stunned as the first night.

 _Oh, are you?_ A little voice at the back of her head seem to whisper. _Is it really that hard to understand why his death makes your heart break? Or why you had run to him, grasping at the tiniest pieces of vision, against all reason and advice, as if your life depended on it? You couldn't stay away, could you._

Annoyed, Rey shook the uncomfortable thoughts off and got up. She knew she wouldn't fall asleep again, she was just too agitated. She had spent most of the previous nights watching the propaganda holovids about the new Supreme Leader, but this only made her angrier, so this night she decided to explore the station.

She had been warned to keep to herself, but, after ten days of sitting in the tiny, stuffy room and listening to a couple of Rodians either arguing or having surprisingly loud sex, Rey felt like she was going crazy. The only times she had left the hotel were to go to a nearby street market to buy something to eat. She had to admit – food on Five Points Station was an colourful mix of dishes from the most unexpected places in the galaxy. As much as she would want to explore the market and try all the unfamiliar foods, every time Rey went for bland but nourishing – not to mention cheap – food portions and quickly retreated to her room.

Twice she had run into Poe, who had also been dropped off at the Station too, but, just as they had agreed, it was safer to act as if they were strangers. It had given Rey some relief to know she wasn't completely alone in this chaotic place, but the feeling didn't last long. The moment she closed the door to her hotel room behind her, it was just her and her thoughts. And the noisy Rodians behind the wall.

This night Rey was determined not to give in neither to anger or self-pity. She put on her hooded cape and walked into the maze of streets and alleyways that the station was.

Even though it was middle of the night, the lanes were only a little less crowded and loud then usually. All the shops, cantinas and casinos were open for business, colourful neon signs a feast for Rey's eyes. As she wandered deeper into the statin, Rey idly wondered whether a place like this, a space post suspended between planets and sea of floating space trash, with no sunrise or sunset, even had a distinction between day and night. It certainly didn't seem to need one.

With her hood deep over her eyes, Rey discreetly watched the passers-by. Diversity of species was astonishing to her. Jakku had a fair amount of scavengers and minor criminals from all over the galaxy, but Five Points Station was full of creatures Rey had never even imagined existed. Unsurprisingly enough, most of them had the distinctive aura of dishonesty about themselves. Rey felt chilly air of evil surrounding, well, basically everyone. One didn't need to be trained in the Force, though, to realise, this wasn't the kind of place where one would come in pursuit of honest employment.

Which didn't make it any less exotic. And, actually, made it all the more exciting.

She stopped in front of a bright blue window display of what seemed like a giant aquarium. Dozens of scaly, fluorescent fish were lazily swimming in the water. Each of them had at least four pairs of bulging eyes that shone in all colours at once. Their movements seemed chaotic at first, but soon Rey noticed they held an intricate pattern. She stood in front of the display, mesmerised and so focused that, when the sounds of the street went abruptly quiet, she didn't notice straight away.

And then she saw his reflection in the aquarium windowpane.

 _Ben_.

She turned on her heel, startled and short of breath. He was so close. And he felt so real. If she reached out, she was certain she could touch him.

"Rey," he whispered. There was no anger or malice in his voice. In fact, quite the opposite. He sounded vulnerable, almost pleading. Just like when he had asked her to join him. Just like when she almost had.

"Why are you here?" she asked, surprised how weak her own voice sounded, "Why is this still happening?!"

She was angry at herself, mostly for not being actually being angered by his presence or alarmed by the fact that she'd just seen his reflection in the window display. A terrible thought flashed through her mind: what if he saw her surroundings, what if he, somehow, made their connection stronger and could see where she was?

He was _so_ _close_.

 _Snap out of it_ , she scolded herself and, suddenly aware that she was shaking, she took a step back. Her back touched the cold glass, she felt tiny emissions of distress coming from the fish inside the aquarium.

"I could ask you the same question," Ben said, taking a deliberate step towards her. He was always doing this, Rey thought, closing the gap between them. And she never felt the urge to move away.

 _Everything is different now_ , Rey thought without convicion, _we made our choices. I should just walk away._

"I would imagine Supreme Leader has all the answers," Rey said. Much to her dismay, Ben gave her a weak smile. Last thing she wanted was to _amuse_ him.

"I would imagine people will think you're crazy, talking to yourself in a crowd." Ben said.

"There's no people here, I'm in the middle of nowhere." Rey said, hoping her voice was calmer than her heart. Could Ben see where she was? Could he find her – and the Resistance? _I really need to walk away_ , she thought, and made no move.

" _Nowhere_?"

"I can talk to myself all I want," Rey said, "There's no food, no people, nothing – "

"Nothing, except a massive fish tank with species from, I believe – Kamino?"

"You shouldn't even be here. This should have ended with Snoke's death!"

"And yet," Ben said, "Here I am and here you are, not running away." There was something in his voice, some kind of mixture of sadness and relief, that made Rey want to wrap her arms around him. She didn't want to analyse, why, despite everything that had happened, Ben affected her this way.

"There's no point, is there," she whispered. He shook his head slightly. At least they agreed on this part.

"Where are you, Rey?" Ben asked, talking another small step towards her. She could see the tiny golden sparks in the brown irises of his eyes. His proximity was both intoxicating and unbearable.

"Nowhere, really." She said. Her mouth felt dry, her heart was beating so loud that he could definitely hear it.

"You do know that I could locate you just by finding out where they illegally display fish from Kamino, right?" Ben asked, "Sure, there will be perhaps thousands locations, but we have our spies in most of them already anyway."

"I know you could, Ben." She said. His breath caught when she said his name. Probably she was the only person in entire galaxy who still called him that. "And I know you won't."

"Why not?" he asked, but they both knew the answer.

"There is no point, is there," she said, reaching out slowly and resting her hand against his chest.

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first installment in this reylo fic. Thanks for reading and, please leave a comment :)**

 *** Five Points Station: originally appears in the awesome book about Jyn Erso "Rebel Rising" - highly recommended, if you liked Rogue One!**  
 *** Kamino: I'm going to assume y'all heard about this planet :) if not: it's a water planet featured in "Attack of the Clones". To be fair, I had no idea whether it was inhabited by tiny fluorescent fish, but I'd like to believe so :)**


	2. Chapter 002: Nobody

A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter, all the follows and faves, you guys are awesome (clearly, I did not expect anyone to pay any attention to my fic!)  
As always - all the recognizable characters and places belong to their respective owners. Only the crazy plot (and the Kamino fish species!) are mine.

Hope you will enjoy this chapter - if you do, hit that review button, please :)

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 **Chapter 002 – Nobody**

When she touched him, it was as if her hand stopped the beating of his heart. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to draw the next breath. And he hated himself for feeling so weak. _Not much of a Supreme Leader now, are you_ , he thought.

The shock both of them felt at the touch was similar to the one they shared that evening on Ahch-To. Similar, but not exactly the same. Back then, they both saw glimpses of each other's futures and Ben had realised he had to follow his feelings, as much as he'd hated to have any feelings at all. Now, as they stood in a dark alley somewhere on one of the countless space ports of the galaxy, he understood something more.

No matter how much they tried to run in opposite directions, they would end up facing each other, so close that they shared the same air. No matter how hard they tried to destroy this connection, it would always bring them together eventually.

But then, again, he couldn't say they tried all that hard. He certainly wasn't. Was she?

It was hard to concentrate with her being so close. Rey's hazel eyes seemed more grey than usually, with tiny sparks of amber around her dilated irises. Ben couldn't resist wondering, not for the first time, how soft would her lips be if he leaned in and kiss her. He didn't dare a move, though, afraid she would push him away. She had denied him once already.

Which he should have seen coming. It fitted the pattern perfectly.

And yet, there was the vision of the future, which they undeniably shared. As much as Snoke had boasted about bridging Ben and Rey's minds, he hadn't put the visions in there. He hadn't had the power to shape the future, he hadn't even foreseen his own death.

"Maybe I will come and find you," Ben said. He was genuinely surprised he managed to speak at all, Rey's proximity was making him light-headed. Weak and pathetic. But there was no point in analysing this now. Or fighting it. In fact, he had decided to stop fighting it long time ago and it had been his decision, only his, Snoke's meddling had nothing to do with it. "I'll find you and your rebel friends, and destroy you one by one," he added, but even he didn't believe his own words. Naturally, Rey didn't either.

"You've already found me." She said, her hand still on his chest. The touch felt so palpable, almost as if she was really there. The blue light from the fish tank made her look quite unreal, like a ghost.

Tentatively he covered her hand in his, letting their fingers intertwine. He assumed she'd push him away, even though she was the one to initiate the touch, to reach out. When she didn't, he wasn't sure what to do. He decided not to do anything, to just let it last. Her skin felt so material, this whole moment felt as real as if the Force had actually transported him to whenever Rey was. He wished they could just stay there, alone somewhere in the galaxy, far away from the war. As he looked at her knew she felt the same.

He had called her nobody, back there in the Snoke's Throne Room. He had hurt her; he knew that. But he had also admitted that, for him, she wasn't nobody, quite the opposite. He couldn't remember last time he had opened himself like that to anyone. Perhaps years earlier, while being part of Luke's Jedi School (Ben wouldn't call it Academy, it seemed more modest than that), or, maybe a few times while talking to his mother, who always seemed to know all the unsaid things. But, to actually ask a woman – to _beg_ a woman – to join him, to stand by his side? He's never done that. He had always taken what he wanted by persuasion or force. Until he'd met Rey, that is.

And now, as they stood in a dark street, their touch so innocent and so powerful at the same time, he feared he'll never be able to be who he was meant to be without her. It was such a strange feeling; he didn't quite understand how it had place in what he thought he controlled completely – his heart.

He wanted to tell her that this wasn't enough, that he wanted to find her and hold her real form in his arms, but, suddenly, she got distracted by something behind him further down the street, her face grew worried and, in an instant, angry, and the connection was broken.

His hand closed on nothing, he looked around barely recognising his chambers. He was alone.

Anger washed over him. He gave into it, as he always did. It was just so easy to let the destructive energy fly through him; he didn't even need a reason for it to set his blood on fire.

Except, now he had a damn good reason.

He grabbed his lightsaber and hurried out from his chamber into the deeper levels of the ship, where The First Order kept a data base. Each ship had a decent navigational and investigative data base and Ben intended to use it.

As he walked through the corridors, he saw soldiers of all ranks scurrying out of his way. His temper was well known in the order even before he became The Supreme Leader. Now, people feared him even more. He didn't mind. It was better this way. Safer. For everyone.

When Ben reached the data base, the blue droid greeted him in a flat voice. Its shiny glass eyes made him think of the Kamino fish that Rey had been admiring when the Force connected them. He knew it was a long shot, but he had meant what he said – he intended to find out all the places in the galaxy the Kamino aquatic species were sold to.

"The number of result is astonishingly narrow, sir," the droid said after short moment of analysing the data, "It is only 12,456 places that the Kamino Eeyyls you described to me are sold to illegally. Would you like the list of the locations sent to your personal drive, sir?"

Just like the droid, Ben expected the number to be higher. Still, twelve and a half thousand was too many. "Cross-reference against where we have our undercover agents stationed." He commanded the droid.

"Right away, sir, "the droid answered and, after another – too long – moment of silence, he answered, "Out of the 12,456 locations, The First Order has their sleeper agents in 88% of them. At this very moment, over a half of them is awake and ready to process orders within minutes. The remaining ones are likely to process orders with a delay of approximately one standard hour and thirteen minutes."

Ben did not like the odds he was against. Even if the agents received a special order from The Supreme Leader himself, what order would that be? Search for a petite brunette with pretty eyes and perfect lips?

When he closed his eyes, he could see her face, in that eerie blue light from the fish tank. Maybe he should just get a scanner ran through his mind and create the projection of her to look at.

Suddenly, he was struck with an idea.

He won't make his secret agents look for her. He will make the whole galaxy look for her.

Rey was shaking with anger. Where her hand was touching Ben's chest a moment ago, there was nothing but cold air. This was almost physically painful. He had held her hand, and they had been so close, and so quiet, and it was so peaceful – and now it was all gone, because some foolish thugs decided to shout a bunch of expletives at her.

Rey knew how she looked – a lone girl lost in the space port in the middle of the night. An easy target. The two men who had been calling at her, were now approaching, she could sense lust and violence emanating from them.

She could use a blaster and be done with it within seconds. But she was just so angry. After nights of nightmares about Ben's death, she finally saw him and, as complicated as it all was, she felt an immense relief to see they still had the connection. Yes, she had caught a glimpse of him back at Crait, but, back then, she was too focused on getting her friends out of there so she had severed the connection herself. Knowing she hadn't broken it for good was like a reprieve.

Except now, of course, these idiots barged into her very private moment, they ruined it, so, no, they did not deserve the mercy of the blaster.

Something at the back of her head whispered alarmingly that anger is not the way of a Jedi, but Rey did not listen. She would not listen; she would make them pay. She was no Jedi, after all. She knew she was capable of this, somehow she knew it would be easy. Confidently, she approached the two men and smiled at them cunningly. Taken aback, the men stopped in their tracks. They must have been expecting her to run away. _Well, not tonight, my friends_.

The thugs did not seem to have blasters either, which stoke her as odd, but then, as she gave them a closer look, she realised that they most likely could not afford to buy proper weapons. Their clothes were ragged and smelled of sweat and sewer. They did carry the knives, though.

Still smiling, Rey said calmly to the taller man: "You will give me your knife." He had obeyed instantly, much to the astonishment of the other thug. "Dan, what the hell – "he stuttered, but was instantly silenced by a swift blow of the knife that just mere moments before belonged to his friend.

Rey watched the man reach to his neck in surprise, to where a thin red line appeared. Her temples were throbbing, her heart seemed to want to explode, and, yet, her hands were steady as she pointed the knife at the remaining thug.

"Please, I'm unarmed, I won't harm you!" the man whimpered, and Rey hesitated. This wasn't like her, to lose her temper that much. She had always known how to take her of herself, she had beaten the crap out of countless men – and some women – at Jakku, but she had never killed anyone.

Until tonight.

 _And all because what? An interrupted moment with a man who probably wants to hunt me down and kill me and all of my friends? Luke was right, I go straight into the dark…_

"I won't tell anyone, please, please pretty lady." The man continued to plead. Rey looked at his scared face and suddenly realised she had no choice, but to kill him. She felt his intention to run to the nearest First Order post and inform them about a psycho woman murderer as clearly as if he spelled it out to her.

"Yes, you will." She whispered and, after a moment of reluctance, reached out for the blaster. Thinking he'd have time to escape, the man turned to run, but blaster's shot hit him in the back of his head within seconds.

Rey stared at the two bodies in terror. The pool of dark blood gathered around the man with slithered throat, getting bigger and bigger at what seemed like an unnatural speed. The body of the man shot in the head still twitched a little. Rey felt sick.

 _Did I really do this?_ The anger that had flooded over her seemed foreign now. She felt the urge to drop the knife and run away, but that would be just careless. Last thing she wanted was to get arrested for murder.

 _It was self-defense. If I didn't attack them, they would attack me_ , she tried to reason with herself, but it didn't make her feel any better, even if it was true. She took a deep breath and looked around in search for any cameras.

She could barely believe her luck, where there wasn't any. At least none she could see or sense.

She gave the fish tank with colourful creatures one last look and rushed back to the hotel. Suddenly, the stuffy hotel room seemed like the safest place in the galaxy. Yes, she would be alone there, but, at least, she won't be able to hurt anyone.

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A/N: Thanks for sticking with me until this point :) Please leave a review! :)


	3. Chapter 003: Most Wanted

**A/N: Hello Dears! It took me forever, but I'm back on track with my little fanfic. Hope you forgive me the delay!**  
 **As usually, nothing recognizable from Star Wars belongs to me, I merely came up with the plot...**

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Chapter 003 – Most Wanted

 _Count the days, Rey, coz you've got only a handful left_ …She didn't fully understand where this voice in her head was coming from. Was this the Force, her conscience, or was she simply going crazy?

How many hours have passed since she'd ran back to the cheap hotel room, hands trembling and short of breath? She couldn't tell.

 _Funny, how your hands only started to tremble_ after _you slit that guy's throat…._

Rey covered her ears with her hands, as if she could silence the ugly whisper. Childish gesture. Pointless, really. She knew very well the voice was coming from within her. And not much, if anything, could put it to sleep.

She'd been pacing the tiny room for skies know how long now, debating with herself about whether she should find Poe and tell him what she had done, but every time she'd opened the door of her room, she'd immediately closed it. No, she couldn't risk going outside and potentially getting identified by whoever was policing the Five Point Station.

Even though Rey hadn't seen any cameras anywhere in the alleyway where she had killed those two thugs, she was deeply convinced there must have been some. It would be simply too much of luck for her crime to go unnoticed.

And, even if it had gone unnoticed, why was she still there, hidden away in the hotel, instead of turning herself in? Why hand't she done the right thing still? Rey couldn't quite believe how easy it had been to end not one, but two lives. Yes, Luke had been right about her. She gave in all too easily to the Dark Side. Almost eagerly.

 _They would have killed me…Wouldn't they? It was self-defense._

Rey sank down onto the bed, suddenly too exhausted to take even a step more. The truth was harsh, but there was no point in lying to herself. She might have been acting in self-defense, yes. But she could have stunned them, beaten them up. This could have ended in so many other ways. Instead, she'd murdered them. And not because she'd felt threatened, no.

She'd felt angry, insanely angry for having been interrupted a private moment with the enemy. Her reaction put all Resistance in jeopardy.

 _I will tell Poe,_ she decided. They had to leave Five Points System and find another hideout, somewhere in the Outer Rim, perhaps even in the Unknown Regions, somewhere beyond the First Order's reach. Somewhere plain, with no distinctive features so that, even if she will see Ben again, he won't be able to figure out her whereabouts at all.

She was just about to get up and go look for Poe, when she felt the familiar sensation of all the noises being sucked out of the room. She held her breath.

"You can't stay away, can you," a familiar, husky voice right next to her. Amused.

"Don't flatter yourself," she rolled her eyes and got up from the bed to face him. Yet, she didn't look him in the eye, she crossed her arms and kept her gaze fixed on the wall a little left to his arm. It felt almost silly to her, but she didn't trust herself. If she looked at him, would he see fear in her eyes, would he somehow read her mind and realize something was terribly wrong with her?

Turns out she didn't even need to look at him, he saw right through her anyway.

"You're distraught," he said, matter-of-factly. Rey shrugged her shoulders, there was no point in explaining what had happened. Also, she didn't exactly like the idea of admitting any kind of weakness to Ben.

"When we spoke before, something…someone distracted you," Ben said, "Did they harm you, is this why you are so…shaken?"

"Do I look harmed?" Rey frowned. She took a step to the side, hoping to get away from Ben a little more. Not that there was much further to go in this room. She did not expect him to stop her, so when he grabbed her wrist, she froze in shock. It was still such an incredible, inexplicable thing to be able to actually touch through the Force, despite the immeasurable distance. She didn't think she would be ever to get over the strangeness of this sensation.

"You're shaking," he said, as their eyes met finally. Rey didn't know what to say, how to say it, but, yes, Ben was right, she was shaking.

There was the strangest energy passing through them and, even though there were no visions of the future in her head, Rey realised that Ben can see the scene from the alleyway. How was it possible that he could see right through her so literally, and right to the exact thing she didn't want him to see?

He let go of her wrist and held her hand instead. Rey let their fingers intertwine. There was some comfort injust simply holding his hand.

"Rey," Ben said, gently tugging at her hand and pulling her towards himself, "There is no way of knowing whether they would have killed you or not. You will never know that, so you might just as well stop torturing yourself."

"Is this what you tell yourself when you kill?" Rey asked, but made no attempt to pull away from him.

When they were just inches apart he stopped, and something inside Rey almost screamed in anger. She wanted this, there was no point denying it, not really. She wanted to feel his arms around her. It didn't even terrify her anymore. Perhaps it should.

"No, Rey," he answered. His voice was very quiet, almost a whisper. "When I kill, I know exactly what the outcome would have been in any possible way."

"So you just chose not to think about it?"

"Oh, on the contrary, I think about it all the time." He said and, finally, pulled her into his arms. Rey leaned in and let out a relieved breath. Her hands rested on his chest. She could feel the toned muscles through the thin black fabric of his uniform and her mind drifted to that night when she saw him shirtless. What if she wanted that again? Would the Force keep them connected if she tried to unzip the shirt?

"I think someone is going to interrupt us," Ben said looking towards the door. Rey glanced over her shoulder, annoyed.

"How can you even hear it?" she asked.

"I told you, Rey, you need a teacher." Ben answered with a smirk and, as if on cue, someone knocked on the hotel room door.

"Just don't kill him," Ben said, still smirking, and before Rey could retort, he disappeared. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, hoping that whoever was on the other side of the door would go away, but she already knew this wouldn't happen.

She felt a ping of jealousy that Ben had felt someone approaching even though he wasn't physically in the room with her. Or was he? It was so hard to define what was going on with them. Especially, when his presence was so distracting.

 _Oh, get a grip!_ She felt like slapping herself. She took a long breath and focused on her surroundings, her eyes still closed. The person on the other side of the door, their energy felt familiar. Friendly.

 _Poe!_

She quickly reached the door and opened. Poe walked in without waiting for Rey to invite him in. He looked alarmed.

"We need to go!" he said, "Get your things, we're leaving in 15 minutes!"

"Why? What's happened? Have they seen me?! It was self-defence!" Rey felt the panic getting back at her, her hands were shaking as she started gathering her few things.

"What are you talking about?" Poe asked.

"Those guys…They attacked me…I-I mean; isn't that the reason we're leaving?" Rey halted to a stop and stared at Poe, who gawked at her as if she spoke Mandalorian to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Didn't you watch the latest holovid-news?" he asked and switched on the holovid projector. After a few seconds of self-adjusting, the holovid showed Rey's face along with the typescript spinning above her blueish head.

 _10 million credits, Wanted for crimes against The First Order._

Rey started at her likeness in a daze. It was obviously, without a doubt her face, except it seemed uncanny. It was oddly prettier, as if retrieved from somebody's memory. A very flattering memory.

She threw the backpack she was holding against the floor in a sudden rush of understanding and anger.

"Son of a bitch!"

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 **A/N: Please hit the review button and let me know what you think! I know it's a slow burn, but I'll get there in the end... :)**

 **Again, thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 004: Ash Angel

**A/N: Hello there! Here's another chapter of Rey and Ben's story, hope you will enjoy it!**  
 **Disclaimer: No recognizable Star Wars character or location belongs to me, all I own is the plot!**

 **The two planets that are mentioned in the chapter are taken from the official SW Galaxy map, they were mentioned at some point somewhere :) My OCD didn't let me make up new locations when there is such an abundance of them already! :)**

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Chapter 003 – Ash Angel

"Don't look at me like this, Poe!", Rey was seething. How foolish she was, oh Gods! There she was literally fantasising about undressing Ben, while he had given a price for her head and announced it to the whole galaxy. How incredibly stupid!

"Rey, I know you're angry, but we need to be rational," Poe was leaning against the wall. How could he be so cool about it? Rey wanted to smash things. Gods, she was so angry. Obviously, there was no way she could even begin to explain why to Poe. What was there to say? That mere minutes before she had been cuddling up against the enemy who had made her the most wanted criminal in the galaxy.

"Rational? Poe, how are we going to even leave this place, when my face is all over the holovids everywhere? Everywhere!"

"We can give you the holographic mask, you can easily pass for a Rodian." Poe suggested, but Rey wasn't convinced. When they had entered the station, they had to undergo a full scan at the check-in point. This was a required procedure at both the entry and the exit points. Anything masking her true identity would be detected immediately.

"That's not good enough, and we both know that." Rey said.

"How about we try it anyway," Poe replied impatiently, "Unless you have a better idea?"

Rey spread her hands in a hopeless gesture. She was so angry she could cry. They didn't have many options. Any options.

"Have you alerted the others?" she asked. Poe nodded, "They're already evacuating. I reckon we're the last to still be in the system."

"You should leave without me, Poe," Rey walked up to him and grabbed him by the arms. "I am endangering everyone, you need to leave me behind," she said with calm intent, but Poe only laughed and brushed her hands away. "Listen, I've been around Leia Organa long enough to know all about Jedi mind tricks!"

"Can she do that?" Rey asked, taken aback.

"Nah, she's enough of a politician to trick you without the help from the Force, but I've heard all about it."

Rey raised an eyebrow. Maybe the Force could be helpful again. It did help her escape the interrogation room on the Starkiller Base, perhaps she could trick a few weaker minds again.

"How far is your ship?" she asked.

"It's on the 13th Floor. Ready to go. I paid a guy to avoid the check-out queue."

"Can we pay to skip it altogether?" Rey asked with no real hope. Skipping check out procedures would be suspicious itself and, in their situation, this would be too much of a risk. Poe shook his head, confirming her fears.

"Let's try," she said, picked her backpack and headed for the door.

"Wait! The mask? You need to put it on now!" Poe said, hurrying up after her, but Rey smiled with confidence.

"I won't need it."

"What do you mean you won't – of course you will need it!" Poe protested. Rey stole a glance at him, he was just as handsome from the profile as ever, even with a worried frown. It would have been so much easier, if she longed for him, instead of the man who decided to hunt her down like a common criminal.

 _Not so common_ , she thought, _10 million credits, that's no price for a common law breaker._ She didn't have time to watch the whole holovid info-transmission about herself, but she was sure some crimes must have been specified in it, something to justify the prize.

When they left the hotel and stepped into the jam-packed streets of Five Point Stations, Rey put all her focus into appearing plain and insignificant. She felt the calm intent surging through her and, judging from virtually zero attention she was getting, it seemed to be working. Poe kept giving her worried looks, as they passed numerous screens displaying her face and announcing her a criminal, but he was the only one. He could easily ruin the trick, though.

"Calm down, Poe," Rey whispered. "If this is going to work, you need to stop acting so tense."

"You couldn't just wear the mask, could you," Poe muttered, unconvinced, "At least until we get to the ship"

Rey sighed and got a hold of his hand. She imagined a calm dune of sand, under the perfect sky, a cosy silence of the Jakku desert and a quiet wreck of a Star Destroyer, offering the blissful shadow. For her these wrecks were always like oases in the unforgiving desert, a reprieve from the cruel sun.

Within moments her calmness emanated into Poe, who now looked almost content, as if they were simply having a stroll for pleasure. When she wanted to let go if his hand, however, he didn't allow her. Instead, he flashed her a mischievous grin. Rey decided to let it go. For now.

They reached the 13th Floor, where their ship was docked in, without any problems, but Rey felt slightly drained from focusing so much. Was this what using Force was like? Did it feed on your energy, instead of making you more powerful? Surely, it couldn't be so. She'd heard countless stories of almost God-like strength Jedi had, she had witnessed a tiny fraction of that from Master Luke. She had also experienced it rushing through her while fighting the Pretorian Guards in the Snoke's Throne Room and then, later, fighting Ben. So why was it that now it was making her tired and weary?

Rey looked around discreetly, while Poe was getting their ship documents verified. There were three other ships nearby, two of them just small enough to get through unnoticed. One of the ships had a human crew and, from what Rey could hear, they were on a route to the planet Sullust, far in the Outer Rim. The ship, called quite appropriately Ash Angel, was transporting a small cargo of people and not entirely legal explosives.

 _All the better,_ Rey thought. Illegal content meant higher safety measures, but, since not much was going on in Sullust of lately, since the planet was giving the First Order the military fuel with no objections, this seemed like the good place to be.

"Ship's cleared," Poe said, re-joining her at the check-out desk, "Now it's just us." She could hear the edge in his voice, the peace of mind she had given him was long gone.

"What is our destination?" Rey asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

"You don't expect me to tell you this now, in the open, where everyone can hear us?" Poe rolled his eyes, but Rey kept looking at him with purpose. She could sense him growing uncomfortable and worried, but she had made up her mind.

"Poe, listen to me," she said, "I cannot put you in danger more than I already have. We need to split up."

"You are part of the Resistance, Rey," Poe opposed, but his resolve was crumbling, "You belong with us. We need you."

"I know. I don't intend to leave you behind," Rey said, "I just need to buy you some time. It's me _he_ is looking for. And he certainly does not expect me to go separate ways from you guys."

Poe winced. Rey wished she could do something to make it easier for him, but she also knew she didn't have much time left, if she wanted to board the Ash Angel. She could hear its crew laughing at some joke, but they seemed to be ready to go.

"Where do I meet you? Tell me." Rey urged. She fixed all her focus on Poe. He might know the Jedi tricks, but there is only so much one can resist.

"Rakata Prime." He whispered almost mechanically. This was all Rey needed. Without a single word, she turned on her heel and marched towards the Ash Angel. She knew Poe would know better than to go after her and make a scene.

There was only one obstacle between her and Ash Angel – the check-out gate for the crew members. Rey knew she wasn't logged in on the list, but she had to take the risk. Dealing with the officer (how surprising that this job was still done by a living creature, instead of a simple, never-failing machine or droid) would be easy, she was confident she could lull the officer's mind. It was obscuring the cameras that would be a challenge. She had no clue if this could be done at all.

Still, she had to try.

From the corner of her eye she saw Poe's ship taking off. She smiled. The Resistance was safer without her, for now, at least.

When she reached the officer's desk, he greeted her with an irritated sigh. "Why can't you people be on time for once?" he mumbled while taking her documents. When he saw her photo, he looked up alarmed, but the moment he met Rey's eyes all the doubt left him. He smiled in a childlike way and said "I hope you will have a pleasant flight, Ma'am", while handing her the documents back. Rey put the hood of her poncho up and smiled back, suddenly struck with an idea.

"I certainly will, my dear. And you will erase the last 10 minutes' footage from all the database"

"Right away!" the officer's smile brightened, as he typed in his access codes and began erasing the data. Rey left him to it and headed towards the ship.

Ash Angel was almost ready for the take-off; the captain was checking something under its missile tubes. Rey passed him by without a word and boarded the ship. Inside, she found an escape pod and locked herself in it.

She was seen by at least half of the crew. Yet, they would not mention the stranger on board their ship and, later, when questioned whether they saw anyone or anything suspicious during their flight from the Five Point Stations, they would swear everything was just as normal as it could be. And they truly believed it.

As they were taking off, Rey gave the last look at the Five Point Station. She would forever remember it as the place she gave in to the dark side, taking two lives as if they had no meaning.

 _Master Luke wouldn't be surprised_ , she thought, exhausted and bitter, just before she drifted off into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

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 **A/N: If you stuck with me to this point - thank you so much! Even though _err_... not much is happening between Ben and Rey in this chapter, I felt like this "tactical" chapter was kind of necessary, just wanted to show how Rey escapes the Five Point Station and some of her motivation - she can still be selfless, despite her previous actions. I hope to explore her inner battle between the light and the dark a bit more soon. Plus, there will be more about Ben, too!**

 **Thanks for reading, again and, please hit the review button and tell me what you think! xoxo**


	5. Chapter 005: Cold

**A/N: Hi All! If you are reading this, is means you have gotten this far in my little fanfic - thank you so much for giving it your time! :) Hope you will like this chapter!**  
 **Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters or locations are mine. The planet Sullust was, I believe, in Battlefront II, but, since I'm no gamer, I found it on wookiepedia :) I have only came up with the character that is named at the end of the chapter! And the plot, of course.**

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Chapter 005 – Cold

The planet Sullust was cold. Not literally, because its subterranean cities had artificial atmospheres with perfectly adjusted temperature. In fact, Sullust was beautiful with its vast lava rivers roaring fire, the colossal towers of countless factories and the impossibly azure lakes. It was all like a miracle.

Still, though, it was cold.

 _Or maybe it is me,_ Rey thought, _maybe it is me that's cold, not this place._ She had been there for nearly a week, and she hasn't spoken to a living soul. She saw humans and aliens, plenty of them, passing under the window of the tiny abandoned apartment she holed up in, but she hadn't made any interaction with anyone.

 _Abandoned? Really?_ Rey's conscience seemed to be a voice of its own recently. She frowned and wrapped herself in one of the blankets – there were plenty of them in this house, almost as if the previous owner had been constantly cold, too.

 _The owner you cast away_ , the conscience reminded. Rey walked over to the small kitchen unit and poured herself a glass of water. It wasn't like she's committed any crime here. Why was she feeling guilty then?

When she'd first landed on Sullust, she'd panicked and stole a speeder to get further into a city of Ash Angel's destination as fast as possible. In hindsight, that was a bad move. Sullust was a place way better organised than the Five Point Station and, naturally, an image of her silly theft showed up on the screens and holovids everywhere within minutes. Rey was almost impressed. Or she would be, if she wasn't so freaked out.

Yes, she had gotten away from Poe and the Resistance and she fiercely hoped that had drawn the First Order's attention away from them at least for a while. But she hadn't really thought through what she was going to do, once she is on her own. She had the sacred Jedi texts, but some of them were in a language she couldn't understand. Besides, it was quite difficult to peacefully study Jedi ways when there was a price of 10 million credits on your head for – now she knew the crime; she had seen the holovid on one of the squares of the city – the worse crime of them all – cold-blooded murder of the Supreme Leader Snoke.

When Rey had saw the holovid, she'd almost laughed. Oh, the perfect irony of it. Ben had killed Snoke, because he didn't want to kill her (partly, at least. Rey knew this wasn't his only motivation), and now she was charged with this crime and he played the role of outraged, mourning successor, who wanted to avenge his beloved master.

So she didn't really feel much guilt – initially, in any case – when she walked into a completely random apartment in one of the more crowded districts and told its owner – a young human named Tate – that he needs to pack the most essential belongings and go for a trip of the lifetime to Naboo, where he will start afresh.

She tried not to think whether he made it or not. _Why wouldn't he make it,_ she told herself for seemed like a millionth time. _Not everyone is a fugitive with a body count, like yourself, Rey._

Now, after six days of a lot of sleep, pacing the apartment from wall to wall, staring at the window at human traffic and speeders passing by, Rey felt cold. That was all she felt. The frantic state of mind from the Five Point Station seemed like a blurry nightmare. She was calm now. And cold.

She tried to study the books she stole from Ach-too, but on most occasions, she would fall asleep after just a few lines. Few times there was knocking at the door, and Rey would wait with a blaster she'd stole on Ash Angel ready for hours, but it seemed like whoever wanted to see Tate, didn't care enough to tear the door down, or to raise any alarm. She wondered briefly whether he even had anyone who would miss him.

Maybe not. Maybe that's a good thing. Galaxy is full of lone stars and meaningless scavengers.

On the seventh day, when there was nothing more left to eat, she was forced to leave the apartment. She was surprised she'd had enough supplies for this long anyway. Probably Tate didn't like going out much. Or maybe he was one of those people who believed the War to End All Wars would start any day now. The End of the World, they called it. There were some of them in every corner of the galaxy, even on Jakku. Rey remembered the ones from Jakku very well – they were a family who lived in a cave, they had seven children who scavenged twelve hours a day but ate only a small part of what they earned. The majority was to be kept for the End Times. Rey had often wondered how come no one ever robbed them, but, once she heard people talking about the crazy level of security their seemingly normal cave had. _If you are expecting the world to end, nothing else will surprise you, ever_ , Rey remembered thinking.

 _If only I was half as prepared,_ she thought as she walked the streets in a long hooded coat she'd found at the apartment. It was made from some sort of leather, dyed black and was surprisingly warm. Too warm, perhaps, for this city. She went to the local market and bought some dry rations that she intended to take back with her, but what she was really after was someplace she could purchase a holographic mask. She was quite exhausted of using the Force to wipe herself from everyone's attention. She wished she'd taken the mask Poe offered her. A documents forger would be nice, too, since she didn't think she'd get away with such a narrow escape as from Five Point Station again. Ever.

A large screen with the First Order propaganda video caught her attention and she stopped in her tracks. She wasn't the only one staring at the display of power; there was quite a group watching the video of Star Destroyers soaring through starlit sky in full grace with dramatic music in the background. There was also an army on the screen, _the_ army – countless Stormtroopers and Deathtroppers in shining armours, marching in front of almost equally countless officers and generals. And above it all there was him – the new Supreme Leader, tall and dark, without his mask.

Rey clenched her fists. It took that one a moment for all her calmness to disappear, just one look at his face and she was, again, so angry. _What are you angry about, exactly?_ Her conscience sneered at her and Rey had to force herself to walk away from the screen. She pulled the hood deeper and walked into the nearest cantina, where she ordered the cheapest drink and sat at the table in the back, away from the lights and the chatter.

 _Deep breaths_ , she told herself, but it wasn't easy to calm down. It was merely his image on the screen, in a stupid propaganda video – _which is why his hair looked so good_ – but it made her blood boil with rage. And regret. And something else, that she did not – _will not_ – admit.

"Hey, you're that girl! I saw you coming in here!" someone said right behind Rey. She turned to see a man, a human, possibly in his twenties, a drink in one hand, the other hand already reaching for the blaster. 10 million credits were worth a little disturbance in a local shithole like this one.

Rey took off the hood, and ran her hand through her hair. She hardly ever kept her hair loose, it was far more practical to tie them in a bun, or three for that matter, especially when you were climbing gigantic wrecks of Star Destroyers all day long. Now, however, she felt it was better to look less like her Most Wanted Criminal holovids. If only she could have a different face, too. She smiled at the man and gestured for him to sit with her.

"Aren't you a pretty thing!" he said and sat next to her. His hand was still ostentatiously on his blaster. He looked quite scruffy, although, she sensed something not quite right about him. Rey knew she would stand no chance reaching for her own blaster, so she decided to use the tactic that had already proven effective.

"I am not the criminal you are looking for," she said with a sweet smile. She felt her calm intent emanating into the man, who for a moment looked very disturbed, as if he was fighting this strange feeling that came over him. In the end, he gave in.

"Of course, you're not!" he said, "Just wanted to catch your attention."

"And perhaps buy me a dinner?" Rey offered, still smiling. She briefly wondered whether this was wrong, but if there was one thing life on Jakku had taught her, it was to take any chance for a free meal that presented itself. It surely seemed like one.

"Of course," the man answered, but made no intention to move. Instead, he took a large sip of his drink and said, "Although, it would be kind of rude to keep all these fine soldiers waiting."

"What soldiers?" Rey looked around. The cantina was crowded, but it seemed like the people dining in and getting drunk were civilians, mostly the workers from the local factory. Surely the man must have been bluffing. And how come he didn't respond to the Force Rey used on him?

"Let me guess," the man leaned in across the table, "You are wondering why didn't I fall for your mind tricks, is that right?" Rey didn't say anything, it was better to let this man, whoever he was, continue, "Well, let me tell you, _Rey_ , I've dealt with the Jedi before. One, to be specific. Until his pathetic school got burnt down to the ground. So you're not gonna fool me here."

Rey stared at the man in horror. What were the odds of running into one of Master Luke's students? Especially, since the only ones left alive were now actually the Knights of Ren. _I think I should just run,_ she thought frantically.

"And the soldiers, my dear, are outside. The place is surrounded."

"I'll go with you freely," Ray said, "But can I ask you just two questions? It won't keep them waiting all that long."

"Why not, I'm in a generous mood," the man laughed, "I've just earned 10 million credits after all."

"How did you find me? I mean, what are the chances?"

"Ah, for that you should thank your friends from the Resistance!" the man laughed genuinely, as if he was about to tell some heart-warming story, "We caught some unusual activity around the Five Points Station right after your hideous crime against the First Order was announced, our data tracking across the galaxy is really exquisite, girl. So, after that we inspected all the ships that had left the place and we noticed a small…discrepancy during the check-out of one of the ships going to Sullust. 10 minutes missing from the tape, more than enough to let someone through unnoticed."

Rey nodded. She shouldn't have stayed here. She should have jumped onto the closest ship the moment the Ash Angel touched down. Instead what has she done? Stole a speeder and slept for a week.

"Surely this couldn't have been the only missing footage during the crew check-out in the whole galaxy, and you still followed this lead?"

"Like I said, this and the appearance of the famous Millennium Falcon, all within a few hours from setting the price for your head, it was all too much of a coincidence. Our new wise Supreme Leader sent me to investigate. And, you have to agree with me, Rey," the man spread his hands in seemingly helpless gesture, "There wasn't much to investigate. We found you pretty much straight away."

"And you just hang around for a week?" Rey raised her eyebrows, "I find it hard to believe you would waste Supreme Leader's previous time so carelessly."

The man narrowed his eyes at her. He had bright green eyes, they shone almost artificially. Rey heard stories that Sith would often change appearance, especially eyes, once fully committing to the Dark Side, but this man's eyes didn't seem as monstrous. _Perhaps Ben's Knights of Ren are truly the new age_ , Rey thought. But then, again, it was more about the actions of one, than one's appearance.

"Well, let's not waste any more time, then," the man stood up and pointed the blaster at Rey.

"You promised me two questions." Rey said. He rolled his eyes. "Be quick!" he said.

"What is your name?" Rey asked.

"it's Quay Ren, of the Knights of Ren. Why? Do you want to know who you are going to beg for mercy?" he laughed. Rey shook her head.

"No," she smiled and took one last sip of her drink. Then she turned to Quay and said, "I want to know who I am going to kill."

Quay only had a split of second to process Rey's words. Before he knew, she reached out and without even touching him, sent him flying across the cantina. He landed on one of the tables and Rey used that few moments to focus. She didn't know whether what she wanted to do would happen, but she had to try.

She closed her eyes and felt the familiar surge of energy flow through her. The Force was right there, she didn't even have to reach for it, it was within her.

When she opened her eyes, Quay was getting to his feet. For a single moment, their eyes met. His rage, her tranquillity.

And then, all the widows, bottles, glasses and flasks exploded at once, sending shreds of glass all over the place. Quay screamed as a large piece of sharp glass cut into his neck, but his voice was drowned in overall chaos.

 _Perhaps I should spend more time reading these Jedi books_ , _because my actions are nothing to be proud of right now, Rey_ thought with no real conviction. Then she raised her both hands and brought the whole ceiling down.

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 **A/N: Please hit that review button and tell me what you think! And thanks again for reading :)**


	6. Chapter 006: Hush

**A/N:So here's chapter 6 - Ben and Rey are finally getting some quality time together :P Hope you will like it!**  
 **Disclaimer: All the recognizable characters and locations belong to their respective creators; I merely own the plot (and Quay Ren, although I'm not sure how I feel about him just yet)**

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Chapter 006 – Hush

Ben decided not to get angry. Well, not just yet.

"I believe I must have misunderstood you, Quay," he said to the holovid projection of one of his Knights. One that, he had thought, would be smart enough.

But then, again, could he really blame him? Rey did not exactly look like the formidable creature she was, not with her pretty eyes and dewy skin. Obviously, Rey's eyes and skin – and lips for that matter – were the last thing he should be thinking of right now.

 _If only it was that easy._

"She is powerful beyond our expectations, Supreme Leader!" Quay said, his voice rusty, almost droid-like. Ben wanted to roll his eyes at Quay. _Of course she is_ , he thought, _she cut right through your neck and killed over twenty people within a minute_. Which was exactly what Ben had warned Quay about. So, really, the ignorant fool had only himself to blame.

"Please, Quay, humour me again – how did you go about capturing her?"

"She was in a cantina," Quay said, wincing. The tight metal collar around his neck with a complicated set of small pipes must have still felt like a foreign thing, inconvenience rather than a life-saving device. He will have to get used to it, though. Overcome it. Weakness is unworthy of a Knight of Ren. "I ordered the soldiers to surround the place, while I went inside and approached her – "

"You approached her," Ben interrupted, raising his eyebrows. Quay grew visibly uncomfortable. "You approached her, Quay, even though I specifically instructed you to take her by surprise."

These were not questions, so Quay did not really have anything to say. Besides, Ben was not interested in excuses. Still, he pressed on. "Please enlighten me, why didn't you wait for her to go outside, since you had the place surrounded?"

"I thought it would be less messy if I just ask her to do as I say – "

"And look how that worked out for you!" Ben clenched his fists. He really wanted to smash things. "You made us look weak, Quay! _Weak_!"

"I beg your forgiveness Supreme Leader!" Quay instantly dropped on his knees, his hands involuntarily reaching to his neck. Ben let out a short laughter. As if this could stop him from getting choked.

"What will my forgiveness do?" Ben asked. "Will it restore the tarnished reputation? Will it somehow stop the spread of the stories about the Jedi Nemesis?" He took pleasure in Quay's shock at these words, "Did you think I haven't heard? This is all everyone is talking about. You made her a hero, Quay, why would I forgive you?"

"Kylo, listen to me," Quay whispered hoarsely. _How dare you call me that now that I am the Supreme Leader_ , Ben wanted to shout, or to silence him for good, but something in Quay's eyes stopped him. If the knight seemed scared before, this was a whole new level. "There is something wrong with her, something really wrong."

"I told you she was strong with the Force, didn't I?!"

"She is not strong with the Force. She is possessed by the Force."

"I don't have the time for your superstitions, _soldier_." Ben sneered, but he had to admit – it made sense. Force could be…overwhelming. He couldn't imagine how someone without any kind of training (those few days with Skywalker on that island couldn't have amounted to much, so Ben didn't even consider them as training of any sort) would be able to function.

But then, again, Rey had proven to be exception of every rule he could think of. And he thought about rules a lot. Almost as much as he thought about Rey.

"You will find her," he said in a tone that left no room for discussion. "You will find her and you will bring her to me. You know what awaits you otherwise."

"Yes, my lord." Quay answered and ended the transmission. Ben could swear he heard sarcasm in his last words, and, normally, he would not let it slide, but he decided to make an exception. He had something far more important on his mind. Someone, to be precise.

 _Possessed by the Force,_ he thought with frustration. This was entirely possible. Snoke had always said that Ben was remarkable; that it wasn't natural for one person to have this much power and only merciless training and discipline would save him from losing his mind. Ben had taken it for granted back then, but _since Rey_ , since his – and hers – powers started to grow, it was exactly that training that kept him sane.

And then there were these superstitions that Quay, and many others, believed in. Tales, which claimed that the Force can choose a person and completely destroy them. Neither in a good or bad way. Just make them dissolve into itself and become something else entirely. He never took these stories seriously, but now he couldn't help but wonder – what if Rey is slowly losing her humanity, what if she will soon kill people by just looking at them, what if she will turn the air to poison by just breathing it?

 _Oh, get a grip!_ He smashed his fist against the metal wall. The dull sound of the stroke only annoyed him more. He looked at his knuckles, they will look bruised soon. He hit the wall few more times, until he dented - and then completely wrecked - the metal panel and blood gushed from the knuckles.

He really only had himself to blame. He had made her the most wanted criminal and now she was an instant hero. He thought he'd been so clever to have the whole galaxy looking for her, but all he really achieved was to make her famous. Not in the way he'd want to.

"What – what's happened, Ben?" a small voice disrupted his thoughts. How had he not notice the distinctive sensation of all the air being sucked out of the room? How had he not felt the connection he'd longed for so much?

He turned to look at her and felt like he was punched right in the chest. She looked just so beautiful, he had to admit it. Her hair was kept loose, curling slightly at the ends, and making her face look even more delicate than ever. She was wearing the same black coat that he had seen on the footage of her fleeing the cantina she'd massacred. It looked good on her. Ben wondered briefly what was she wearing underneath it, but then he noticed that her cheeks were wet from tears.

"You're crying," he said. She wiped the tears with the hem of the sleeve, embarrassed.

"You're bleeding," she retorted. Ben looked at his hand. He didn't even feel the pain anymore. He seriously needed to get a grip. "It's nothing." He said and snapped his fingers at a tiny medical droid that was hovering on a stand-by. The droid quickly approached him and started applying the bandage. Ben pushed it away, but kept the bandage.

"No, it's not." Rey walked up to him and took the bandage from his hand. Not looking at him, she wrapped it around his fist. Ben remembered all to clearly how, not so long ago, she had shut the Millennium Falcon door in his face, severing their connection. And how he basically cried then and there, kneeling in the middle of the abandoned Resistance base on Krait, thinking he would most likely never feel her presence again.

And there she was, her fingers so gently bandaging that stupid wound on his fist (although now he was kind of glad he'd hurt himself). How strange it all was, how almost unreal.

"Look at me, Rey," Ben said. When she didn't, he reached for her chin and turned her face towards him. He felt her tremble under his touch.

"I – I don't know why I did it, Ben," she said and tears welled up her eyes again. "Please don't cry," he whispered and traced her jawline with his fingers.

 _Not much of a Supreme Leader now, are you?_ He wanted to laugh at himself, and maybe he would, if it wasn't for Rey's tears. He couldn't bear to see her cry. It actually physically hurt him. He would fight the world, the whole galaxy if needed, if only he could make things better. _Too bad I'm the one who messed it all up in the first place_ , he thought with disdain.

"Isn't it funny," Rey smiled through the tears, "We are so gentle with each other and then we turn into monsters for everyone else. At least, _I_ do."

"You are NOT a monster, Rey!" Ben said, exasperated, grasping Rey by the shoulders. She pushed him with sudden anger. "Yes, yes I am! I killed all these people, Ben!"

"It was self-defense –"

"Oh, please, I didn't attack only Quay, I attached everyone, Ben! And I was perfectly, _frighteningly_ calm!" she wasn't at all calm now. He tried to say something, but she didn't let him. "And it's your fault! You made the entire freaking galaxy hunt me! Why can't you own up to what you did? Why do I have to be your scapegoat?!"

"I need to see you," he said. Rey's eyes widened in shock. He was a little surprised with his honesty himself. Perhaps he should just not open his mouth, Rey was messing with his head. With no help from the Force whatsoever.

"Well, here I am!" Rey said, still angrily. At least she wasn't shouting anymore.

"And is this enough for you?" he asked. Rey didn't answer. For the longest time she just looked at him and, when he thought he won't hear anything – or, perhaps, another rejection – she whispered.

"No."

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 **A/N: SOOOO what do you think? Like it, hate it? Please hit the review button and let me know, I appreciate every single review! As always - thanks for reading this little twisted fanfic :)**


	7. Chapter 007: Ghost

**A/N: First of all, thank you SO MUCH for all follows and faves, it makes me happy anyone would even want to read this fanfic :) And - here's the next chapter, hopefully you'll like it! I must admit I was going somewhere completely else with it, but then, the ending sort of went its own direction!**

 **Disclaimer: As usually, all recognisable characters and locations, belong to their respective owners, I merely own the crazy plot!**

 **Enjoy!**

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Chapter 007 – Ghost

"And is this enough for you?" Ben asked. Rey thought of that moment in Snoke's throne room, when he'd asked her to join him. There was the same kind of silent plea in his eyes now. Back then she had been certain of her own path, she had thought she would proudly walk on the light side of the Force.

Now? Not so much.

It's not that she wanted to kill. It was more of the lack of _not wanting_ to kill. In hindsight, it was horribly wrong, but in the moment, it hadn't seemed of much significance.

And, as if her relationship with the Force wasn't complicated enough, there was Ben. Rey still believed that the vision of the future they shared was still possible. The odds were considerably worse now – and they were getting worse by the day – but there was still possibility that what she had seen _so clearly_ for both of them, could happen.

There was no point pretending she didn't want it.

"No." she whispered. Of course, she wanted more. As incredible as this connection through the Force was, it was not enough. Not by a long shot.

But then, again, he'd made her the most wanted criminal in the galaxy, so any kind of reunion would surely mean her death sentence. Not the most alluring scenario.

"You could still join me." Ben said bluntly and Rey had to laugh.

"You put a prize on my head. How do you expect this to go?" she asked, "'Hey, listen everyone, this is the criminal who murdered Snoke, she will now rule the galaxy with me?' Great plan, Supreme Leader!"

"Why the hell not?!" he snapped, "I am the Supreme Leader after all, I can grant a pardon to anyone I want!"

"Are you out of your mind?! The moment you do that, Hux would announce a treason. Come on, even I am not stupid enough to believe you could get away with it and I am, like you said yourself, just a scavenger!" Rey was livid. How delusional was this man who, by what now seemed like a cosmic joke, was ruling the galaxy? "It's the most ridiculous plan I've ever heard of!"

"Not if you give me the Resistance," Ben said. It took a moment for these words to sink in. Rey shook her head, feeling tears welling up in her eyes again. This time these would be tears of frustration, though. Why was he so goddamn stubborn?

"Ben," she walked up to him and took his face into her hands. She forced herself to calm down "We both know this is not going to happen. No matter what we say now, we've played ourselves into a corner." She thought of kissing him, but, as naïve as it was, she didn't want to kiss someone who wasn't really there. Not for the first time, at least. Ben, however, didn't seem to have such objections. He took her hands into his and gently kissed the tips of her fingers. Rey thought she could hear her own heart breaking. Why was fate, or Force, or just universe so cruel, to bring them so close – but never close enough.

She only noticed she was crying, when Ben whispered, "Please, don't cry anymore, Rey."

"I don't know what to do," she said. Her reckless actions brought too much attention to her and it was unlikely she would even manage to leave Sullust. Besides, where would she go? It's not like she could re-join the Resistance – she was too much of a threat to them, still.

"First of all, I think you need to get yourself a new lightsaber." Ben suggested. Rey rolled her eyes. She couldn't afford to plan that far ahead, not with Quay of Ren and potentially all First Order forces stationing on Sullust after her.

"Where do I even begin?" Rey asked, pretending to ponder on the question "Let's see, first of all – I don't know how to make one. And even if I did, the kyber crystal from Luke's lightsaber is damaged, so I would need to find a new one. And it's not like they're just lying around! From what I've heard there's no more kyber crystals left in the galaxy!"

"First of all – you're wrong" Ben seemed amused, which annoyed Rey. How could he so easily switch from conversation about a murder she had committed, to practicalities of getting a new weapon. But then, again, he was where he was for a reason. "Kyber crystals can still be found in many places. Jedha, Eadu, you name it. There's not many left, but there are some, definitely. And if you actually bothered to read the Jedi books when you were on Ach-Too, you would have found very clear instructions how to make a lightsaber."

"It doesn't matter!" It was Rey's turn to snap. She wasn't going to admit having the books to Ben, besides, both planets Ben mentioned were halfway across the galaxy from Sullust and she didn't have a ship. "It doesn't matter, because I am the criminal who killed Snoke, so I won't be able to even get off this planet. Which part of this you don't get?!"

Ben looked at her thoughtfully. "You really do get angry quite easily," he said, corner of his lips twitching in amusement. Rey wanted to say something, but before she could think of any clever response, their Force connection was gone. She was alone.

After the incident in the cantina, she had blindly run across the city, not knowing where to hide. First she had taken a speeder (she pushed the owner off it) and raced through several districts, until she had seen a vast, busy street beneath her. She had waited, until she saw freighter passing beneath her slowly enough. Not thinking much, she had jumped onto its roof and stayed there for a few blocks. She had to admit, she was lucky the traffic was slow, otherwise she wouldn't have managed to hang onto the sleek metal surface of the freighter. She had jumped off, when it hovered close enough to a building with reasonably flat roof. From there, it wasn't difficult to find her way to the lower levels of the city, but she was still pretty much stuck in the city with no way out.

When the Force connected her with Kylo, she was hiding in an empty warehouse. She'd chosen it, because she could sense it really was empty, no squatters inside, no living creatures. She was tired and she needed some time to think what to do next.

"You made quite a mess, Rey" a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. Rey jumped to her feet. _It can't be,_ she thought. Right in front of her, in a human form, but cloaked in an eerie light was Master Luke.

"You…you passed away," she muttered, terrified. "I felt it, I felt a shift in the Force."

"Death is not what I once thought it would be, Rey." Luke answered. _This is it, I've officially lost my mind_ , Rey thought and reached out, as if to touch him, but quickly withdrew her hand. If he was actually there, she wasn't going to touch a ghost!

Back at Jakku, she had heard stories about ghosts hunting the deserts and searching for lost travellers to eat their souls, but she had never seen one and she lived in the actual desert ever since she'd remembered. But, then, back at Jakku, she didn't believe in many things. Like, Luke Skywalker for example. Until the day she'd met Finn and BB-8 she had believed Luke was merely a legend.

"Are you really here?" still, she had to ask. So much had happened, she would not be surprised in the slightest if she'd started hallucinating. Luke only smiled and waved his hand nonchalantly. Suddenly a metal pole came loose from one of the racking above her and hit her on the head. She screamed in pain and surprise.

"Is this real enough for you?" Luke asked. Rey touched her head and winced. She would have a painful bump for days.

"I've been watching you, Rey," Luke said with no further ado. Rey spread her arms in a helpless gesture and sat on the ground, right where she was standing. "They you've seen I've been doing…not great."

"That's an understatement of the year." Luke said. Rey knew very well how bad it was and looks like now she had a deceased teacher to tell her all about it. She shrugged. There was nothing to say, really.

"Rey, you must not give up –" Luke began, but Rey wouldn't have it. It was such a waste of time. "Master Luke, I killed innocent people. Lots of them. I am not a Jedi, nor will I ever be."

"So you think that your actions, however wrong and short-sighted, define you for the rest of your days?" Luke asked, with his signature amusement that annoyed Rey back at Ach-Too. Often, she had no clue whether he was serious or not. Or mad. She still wasn't entirely sure.

"Jedi do not kill people, period."

"Oh, then, I guess you are lost forever!" Luke spread his arms theatrically, although he still sounded slightly amused. "There is no point for you to continue, you might as well kill yourself here and now."

"Master Luke!" Rey cried out. Luke had a flair for dramatics when he was alive, he certainly kept it as a ghost. He knelt next to her and reached out, as if wanting to put his hand on her shoulder, but then, as if on second thought, he withdrew his hand. When he spoke, he sounded serious. "Years ago, my father, Darth Vader, seemed to have been lost to the light side forever. The atrocities he committed were unspeakable. I believed there was still good in him – much like you believe there is something of it left in Ben Solo – and, in the end, I was right, but it was he, himself who made the choice."

"So what are you saying, Master Luke?"

"There is a way back for everyone, if they're willing to take it. There was one for Vader, there is one for Ben, and you – you're not even close to the dark side, my child."

"But, but what about those people I killed? Surely it can't just be erased what I've done…"

"No, of course not," Luke said gravely, "This is the burden you will carry with you till the end of your days. But it does not determine your path."

"So, what should I do?"

"Maybe listen to Ben and get yourself a saber." Luke said, back to his not-so-serious tone. Rey's mouth dropped, but before she could say anything, Luke winked at her and vanished into thin air.

She sat there, in the middle of the warehouse, utterly stunned, until she sensed someone's presence. Soon, she heard the footsteps approaching.

 _No, it can't be…._

She got up and reached for her blaster. She unlocked it and pointed towards the dark warehouse, but she already knew it would be to no use.

"You look lost." He said, coming out of the shadows.

"Ben," Rey breathed. She watched him walk up to her and take away her blaster. He didn't use Force, but gently took it from her hands. When their fingers touched, Rey inhaled sharply. This couldn't be true. And yet.

"You're really here."

"It was high time; don't you think?"

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 **A/N: I think it was high time, too :) What do you think? Hit that review button and let me know! And, as every single time - thank you for taking time to read this!**

 **More to come soon! xx**


	8. Chapter 008: Lost and Found

**A/N: Thank you guys for all the comments, faves and follows, you are awesome :) Here's another chapter! I re-wrote it three times, but, hopefully, the end effect is worth the effort. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters and locations are my property - they belong to their respective owner. I only own the plot.**

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Chapter 008 - Lost and Found

Rey lost the count of how many times she had not gotten what she'd wanted from life. It was worse than that – she wouldn't even be able to tell when she had stopped expecting good things from life.

Good things did not happen to Rey.

For a very long time _nothing at all_ happened to her, each day exactly the same as the others, a mark made on the wall of an abandoned At-At that was her home – an empty gesture, when there is no real hope.

Then, with the arrival of a small BB-unit, things started happening – and fast. But even that was all bittersweet. Rey had seen the beauty beyond her imagination, but she had also seen the destruction beyond any measure. She had learnt to unleash the great power that had been asleep inside her, but she'd paid a hefty price for that.

It really shouldn't surprise her at this point. Everything comes at a price, the one thing that the ruthless reality of being a scavenger from Jakku had taught her.

So, why did it still hurt so much to know she'd have to pay for every good thing?

Rey had him close at hand, literally. Closer than that, in fact. His dark eyes were warm and calm; everything around them was calm. And everything inside her was singing. With relief. And impatience.

And, naturally, there was a bittersweet note to her song, too. There had to be. She knew it. Why did she hate it so much, then?

He walked up to her and took her blaster away. They weren't going to fight tonight. Or maybe just not with blasters.

She lost breath when his hand touched hers. He wasn't wearing his leather gloves and Rey wondered whether he'd simply forgotten about them, or had chosen not to wear them. She hoped it was the latter. She managed to stutter a silly statement: "You're really here." This only made him smile, which, in turn made her want to die - of joy, torment, anticipation, a bit of everything.

"It was high time, wasn't it?" he asked. Rey just nodded in response. They weren't in a rush to fill the space between them with words, talking was like a walk through a mine field, there was so much that could hurt and, by Gods, they were _so_ good at hurting each other. Finally, they had opportunity to do so in reality. No, it was better not to speak.

Besides, it wasn't conversation Rey craved. She wanted his lips on hers, hungry and unquenchable. She wanted to feel the heat of his body on hers. She wanted it all. Now.

And yet, neither of them made a move. They stood perfectly still, just looking at each other, like two predators regarding one another, trying to foretell which one of them will become the prey. They were danger to each other, they knew it all too well.

"Why did you come here?" Rey finally asked, after what seemed like a very long time. She could barely recognize her own voice, it was hoarse and laced with longing so intense it scared her.

"I told you, I needed to see you," Ben answered.

"Well," Rey's voice dropped to a whisper, "Here I am. Is this enough for you?"

Something in the air shifted, became heavier, as if the Force was weighing on them, on everything. Or maybe just lust. When their lips met, Rey felt almost an electric charge surge through her. With that came an understanding of why she had wanted it despite all reason. She leaned into Ben, who, in response wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer.

As their breaths became quicker and the kiss hungrier, more desperate, Rey felt – no, it was more than a feeling, it was absolute certainty – that nothing will ever measure up to this moment. This - right here, in his arms, was where she belonged. It could be very well her last kiss, she'd die happy.

 _Maybe I will_ , she thought, and, before she could register what was happening, they were backing away from each other, still basically breathless, but the Force at each side already waiting to attack. To kill.

Rey didn't understand why – and how? – their instincts took over, and judging from Ben's bewildered look, he didn't either. She still felt her lips tingling, her head was spinning, the last thing she wanted was to fight. And here they were, the Supreme Leader and the Last Jedi. Gods, they _really_ played themselves into a corner!

"When did you get here?" Rey asked just to put off the inevitable.

"Quay sent me the initial report two days ago," Ben said and Rey took pleasure in hearing how he was still out of breath a little, "So I made sure my ship was nearby. I landed in the city the moment I heard about the…incident in the cantina."

"So when we spoke before you were already in the city?"

"I was right here, in this building."

"I – I don't understand." Rey whispered. It couldn't be.

"Yes, you do." Ben said, but when she didn't answer, he continued, "It was you who found me here, Rey."

"I wasn't looking for you!" Was it possible that Force had guided here to the exact place where he was waiting? Was she just a puppet on a string? Or was the Force essentially fed up with them just wanting each other and decided to took the matters in her (Rey liked to think the Force was a _she_ ) supernatural hands?

"And yet, here we are." Ben said and took another step back.

"Is this an…. official trip, Supreme Leader?" Rey arched an eyebrow at him. He had been right about one thing; she surely did not need the blaster.

"Depends on the outcome." Ben answered smiling and Rey knew this was the time to attack.

Clearly, so did Ben, because they unleashed the Force at each other in the same exact moment, sending all their surroundings flying and crushing against the walls of the building. Rey didn't know how she was doing it – just like she hadn't had a clue back there in the Throne Room – but it felt natural. Having that unimaginable power within her felt perfect.

Almost as perfect as their kiss.

The injustice of it all and the cruel _fairness_ of it made her scream in frustration and gave her a moment of dominance over Ben who was struggling to stand on his feet, but quickly made up for it and it was Rey's turn to fight back. She closed her eyes and allowed the Force to completely take over.

She didn't even hear the explosion.

When she opened her eyes, the warehouse they were in was no longer there. She looked around astonished. The walls were brought down by the explosion she caused. Or was it something they both managed to do?

Ben stood a few meters away from her, just as taken aback as she was.

"So, what is the outcome of your visit to Sullust?" Rey asked. The sound of multiple alarms set of by the explosion was deafening, but she knew he would hear her all too well. Somewhere in the distance sirens of approaching military were blasting.

Instead of answering, Ben closed the distance between them and, before Rey could do anything, he kissed her gently on the lips. The kiss was bittersweet and made the whole world go black.

When Rey woke up, she was no longer in the wrecked warehouse. Instead, she was lying on a bed in some non-descript, dirty room with not much light and terrible stench. Her head was aching and her mouth was dry. She could hear the voices of First Order soldiers outside searching the area. It seemed like she was not too far from the explosion site.

And she was all alone.

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 **A/N: PLEASE let me know your thoughts! And, again, thank you for taking time to read this crazy little story! I really hope you like it!**

 **Stay tuned for more xx**


	9. Chapter 009: Mind Tricks

**A/N: Hello there! (insert *that* Obi Wan gif here lol) Thank you so much for sticking with this little story and all the comments on the previous chapter! Here's another little piece of madness.**

 **Now, a nerdy fact: There is a Kubaz in this chapter – it is a humanoid alien species, with super-sensitive sense of smell. I did not come up with it (sadly!) – it actually makes an appearance in The New Hope. Look it up on wookiepedia to get a better idea if you want.**

 **The usual disclaimer – all of the recognisable characters and locations belong to their respective owners. I merely came up with the plot.**

 **Happy reading!**

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Chapter 009 – Mind tricks

The voices outside – so many of them. Full of urgency and rage. And a simple nervousness, too. Understandable, given who they would have to give a report in case of the failure of their mission. Rey didn't believe they were going to fail, though. In fact, she would bet her very last credit that any minute now the Stormtroopers (or Deathtroppers, or whichever kind of Bucketbrains it was today) would knock out the door to the – yet another – dingy apartment she was hiding in.

So she sat across from the door with a blaster, ready for them. And they were all she allowed herself to think about.

Hours passed. The voices grew louder before they got quieter and, then, died away completely. Rey, however, did not move, she knew that the soldiers would eventually find her. The silence must be a deception. The silence could not be trusted.

 _I cannot be trusted_ , she thought, and the images of destroyed warehouse flashed before her eyes. She had barely had to make any effort to tear the whole place down. Of course, there was still a possibility that it wasn't just her, but both of them, but she would never know.

She was planning to never be in the same room as Ben. It was too dangerous, and she wanted him too much to have confidence in her better judgement. Especially now that she knew what it was like to lose herself in him.

 _Focus, Rey!_ She ordered herself. She will not think about that kiss. Not now, not ever. She will not allow herself to think, not even for a minute, about how good he tasted and how surprisingly soft his lips felt, but how greedy they turned out to be.

"Stop!" she yelled at herself, getting up from the chair she'd been sitting on and giving it a few solid kicks. Oh, if Master Luke could see her now, he would laugh his head off! She really needed to get a grip, otherwise she might just as well use the blaster on herself.

R focused on the noises coming from outside the apartment, but nothing seemed alarming, so she decided to get a better look at the place where Ben had dumped her.

It was still quite a mystery to Rey – why hadn't he captured her, she was there, for the taking, practically willing to go. Well, maybe not willing, maybe just unconscious. He could have brought her with him to his flagship and claim a victory. Propaganda videos would be glorious – just a week or so after announcing her crime, she would be captured. Defeated. This seemed like such a smart move for Ben. Even more so for the Supreme Leader.

But then, again, coming to Sullust was the opposite of a smart move. And yet, he had been there. Rey had no idea how – of even: if – he'd managed to keep secret his absence from where he should have been. She could only guess, but if it was her, she'd use mind tricks on a lot of people to get where she'd wanted.

 _Probably shouldn't call them "mind tricks",_ it occurred to her. Such a diminishing phrase. These mind tricks had already saved her life quite a few times, she should think of some more profound name. If only you read the books, you'd know the name, her conscience observed bitterly and Rey froze. The Jedi Books! She had left them in the previous place where she'd been hiding, before she went out that one time and massacred a cantina full of innocent people.

She had to get back there.

She searched through the grim apartment in hope of discovering anything useful, but all she found was a half-empty bottle of fermented mead with worms sloshing around inside and a corpse of a Kubaz in the little shower unit. "Explains the stench." Rey muttered, as she stared at the dead body of the humanoid. Its eyes were hidden under the copper goggles and his snout was crinkled, as if in a final act of disapproval. Rey knew that Kubazians had incredibly sensitive sense of smell. They could sniff an enemy long time before they would saw him. More than that, they could smell your emotions, your intentions, it was almost like a mind trick of their own.

This particular Kubaz simply must have smelled what was coming for him. Or rather who.

There were no visible injuries on the body. Had Ben choke the luckless alien to death? Or had his brain got fried? She would never know. Just as she would never know whether Ben had killed the Kubazian before or after he had brought her to this apartment. If it had been before, then, perhaps, he had planned to use this place to hide himself – or her. If it was after – all the same. Either way, the Kubaz had died and she lived. Perhaps, he had died so she could live.

How was she supposed to feel about it?

In a tiny closet she found a few cloaks the newly deceased had kept in perfect order along with a few pairs of spare googles. All she lacked was the snout cover. Without it the disguise would be laughable. It was nowhere in sight though. Reluctantly, she got back to the shower unit, and, just as she'd thought, the metal snout cover was in the Kubaz's hand. Rey grimaced, and knelt next to the corpse to try to free the mask from the clenched fingers. It proved to be an arduous task and, in the end, she had to actually break Kubaz's fingers to retrieve the item.

She stared at it for the longest time. Was she really going to wear a dead person's face cover? The chances of her passing for an actual Kubazian were not great, to say the least. But it was either this, or staying in this place till she starves to death. Or until the First Oder army finds her. It occurred to her she could boil some water to clean the snout mask, but she decided against it. There was no time for that. The soldiers could be back at any time.

She tore a narrow strip of fabric from one of the cloaks and used it to tie the snout cover to her head. It was worse than she'd feared; the smell she was breathing in was making her stomach turn. _Oh, get a grip!_ She scolded herself again. Then she put the goggles and the cloak on.

"Pathetic," she said as she evaluated her look in the cracked mirror on the closet door. If anyone actually believed she was a Kubazian, she would laugh. Not that she could actually laugh with that thing attached to her face. Still, there was no time for second guessing herself now. She tucked the blaster behind her belt and quietly left the apartment.

She stopped at the door, wondering whether she should give the deceased some kind of last rite. She didn't. It would be too little, too late.

When she stepped outside of the building, she saw the city in a state of controlled chaos. The streets were crowded as always, but everyone was on edge. She sensed fear emanating from almost every single passer-by. Rey had no clue where she was. After the cantina, she had run blindly, just to get away from it, doesn't matter in which direction.

How, by Gods, was she going to find her way back? Ben had said she'd found him. She discarded it back then, but now it didn't sound as ridiculous. There was no way he would have known where she'd end up in her panicked escape. Perhaps the Force guided her. If it had back then, it could just as well now.

As she walked the streets of the city that – just like Five Point Station – didn't seem to sleep, ever, she allowed herself to feel the pull towards something. The sacred Jedi texts, hopefully, she thought. She focused, again, on seeming unimportant – a mind trick that that seemed to work so far. The further she walked from the explosion site, the less frantic she felt and, when she finally – by, what she would call a miracle not long ago, but now knew was simply the Force guiding her – reached Tate's apartment, she was fully composed.

She stopped in front of the door, listening for any noises coming from the inside, but the place was perfectly still. She took a deep breath and regretted it instantly, the smell of the dead Kubaz's face cover made her gag. She ripped it off, gasping for fresh air. When she managed to stop herself from vomiting, she entered the apartment.

It was dark and cold. Precisely like she had last seen it. The Jedi Books were still where she'd left them, too, tossed underneath the bed, in a move that now seemed both careless and childish to Rey. Quickly, she tucked them into her bag and turned to leave.

But then she stopped. Or, to be more exact, something stopped her. She was reaching for the sensor that would open the door, when her hand froze. It was a peculiar feeling of not being able to make any, even the slightest, move. A feeling that she already knew.

"Did you honestly think you could just come back here and no one would know?" a raspy voice behind her broke the silence. How was this even possible? Rey hadn't sensed anyone inside. She still couldn't move, but saw him from the corner of her eye, slowly approaching, the green light of his eyes somewhat dimmer.

He leaned against the door, effectively blocking her only way out. He seemed to put no effort whatsoever to paralysing her with the Force. She saw a complicated piece of machinery on his neck, with numerous tubes and wires. He noticed her staring. "This little collar here?" he mused, pointing to it, "That is the only thing between me and suffocating, since your stunt back at the cantina." He didn't say it with anger; on the contrary, he sounded almost amused. It would have been better if he actually was angry. People don't make mistakes when they're calm.

 _Which is why you should stop freaking out all the time_ , a little voice at the back of her head remarked. Rey wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Duh.

"Wherever it is you ran, you should have stayed there, girl." Quay continued. He reached out and pulled down the goggles Rey was still wearing. "I like to see the face of my victims before I kill them." He said and finally let go of the Force that was immobilising her. Instinctively, she took a few steps back from him.

He had been waiting for her, wounded and plotting revenge. He was much more dangerous than when their paths had crossed before.

"I would think you need to bring me back alive in order to claim your reward." She said, but Quay waved it off. "You attacked me and I had to defend myself. It was either this or letting you go, which I simply couldn't afford again."

"Maybe there's a third option," Rey started carefully. She didn't have a clue what a third option acceptable for Quay would be, but she needed to gain some time to come up with an option good enough for her. Preferably one that wouldn't include mass murder.

Was such an option even possible at this point?

"Maybe there is." Quay agreed, "But I'm done with you." He ignited a lightsaber, which Ray hadn't noticed before. Its blade shone with red light, which was not surprising. What _was_ surprising to Rey, was how unimpressed she felt. She realised that she could take him down with or without the lightsaber. Or, better yet, she would take him down with his own lightsaber.

She reached out for it, and it took only a few seconds of Quay's struggle, until the weapon flew across the room and elegantly landed in her hand.

"Did you honestly think it would be that easy?" she asked. Quay immediately produced a blaster from behind his belt and started shooting at her, but, driven by instinct which by now felt pleasantly familiar, Rey sparred all the shots with the lightsaber, sending them across the apartment and putting mostly everything on fire.

"The place is surrounded," Quay yelled, while still shooting, "You've got nowhere else to go!"

"Didn't stop me before!" Rey answered and launched at Quay, who moved out of the reach of his own saber in the very last moment. She tore the door down with the blade. The hallway outside was eerily quiet. If she wanted to run, now was the time.

"You are going nowhere!" Quay roared and sent a surge of the Force towards her so powerful that it threw her across the hallway. The pain of hitting a wall almost knocked her out, but she quickly got up to her feet and marched back towards the apartment. The blood was pumping in her temples. She wasn't going to run. She was done running.

"Not until I'm done with you," she said and attacked the knight of Ren. Blaster was no defence against a lightsaber, so all he could do was to evade her blows. He was predictably good at that, but he was getting exhausted quickly, most likely due to his new respiratory aid. Not before long, he was on the floor, the pulsating red light of the saber blade inches from his face.

Briefly, Rey thought of a similar moment when she was about to kill. It had been in a forest and it if hadn't been for the ground splitting between them, she would have killed Ben back then.

There wasn't going to be an earthquake now.

"Just finish it," Quay whimpered. Rey raised the saber, ready for the final stroke, when an idea occurred to her. This man was so exhausted, so scared. He was practically defeated already.

"You will compose yourself and take me to your ship." She commanded him. Not dissimilar to an obedient droid, Quay sat up straight and took a few deep breaths. Rey handed him the lightsaber and knelt next to him, "I am your prisoner, but you will kill anyone who will even try to touch me."

Quay nodded mechanically, the green light gone from his eyes.

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 **A/N: Thank you, as always, for reading this little chapter! Please let me know your thoughts!**

 **Stay tuned for more xx**


	10. Chapter 010: Jedi Nemesis

**A/N: If you are reading this – thank you so much! For giving this story your time and sticking with it up until now! Hopefully, this chapter won't disappoint either!**

 **Disclaimer – all of the recognisable characters and locations belong to their respective owners. I merely came up with the plot.**

 **Happy reading!**

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Chapter 010 – Jedi Nemesis

As they walked through the crowded streets of the city, Rey was trying to make some sense of the recent events. Quay had been instructed to keep her close to him and not let anyone else touch her, so, even though they were escorted by twenty Stormtroopers, she walked undisturbed. That was, if you didn't count the attention she was getting from the passers-by. They all seemed to recognise her, which wasn't all that surprising, given how Ben had made her the most famous criminal in the galaxy.

What did surprise her was that many of them were openly cheering her. Rey thought it was nothing short of brave. Twenty armed soldiers that were known of killing for lesser offenses than that, and, still, people were applauding her and shouting "Jedi Nemesis!" Brave, borderline on reckless.

"Tell your soldiers to do nothing," Rey muttered towards Quay, when she sensed how tense the troopers were. Last thing she wanted was another massacre caused by her. Quay obliged without hesitation, ordering the Stormtroopers not to engage with the crowd. She stole a glance at him. He stared straight ahead without a slightest worry in his eyes. His breathing was still uneven after the effort that their fight had been and his electronic collar was making not-too-healthy noises. Rey was convinced that had Quay not been wounded and weakened already, she wouldn't have been able to control him the way she did. Or maybe not at all.

Still, at any moment, he could break away. It was all one big gamble.

"Why are they calling me like that?" she asked him.

"Sullust might be openly cooperating with us," Quay answered matter-of-factly, "But Snoke wasn't exactly popular here. They liked what you did back there."

"In the cantina? Why?" Rey couldn't comprehend it. She'd expect them to hate her: she had, after all, killed innocent bystanders.

"Beats me." Quay said, "You killed a lot more of them than us, yet they immediately pronounced you to be a hero. You are now the Jedi Nemesis." The last words he spoke with certain disdain in his voice and Rey felt her heart sunk in panic that her control over him was slipping. She took a deep breath and fixed all her attention on Quay, blocking out all the noises. She had to keep him on a leash.

"ETA to the docking bay with our ship is ten standard minutes, sir." A characteristic, muffled voice of the Stormtrooper broke Rey out of her focus. She looked at Quay, who just nodded to the trooper and carried on walking steadily. She hadn't thought farther than getting to the ship and now she only had ten minutes to figure out what to do.

Quay's grip on her arm tightened, she felt her control faltering. There wasn't much time left, she had to act now.

They were walking through a particularly crowded street; people were reluctantly giving way to the First Order cordon. Here and there she could still hear someone calling out to her "Jedi Nemesis!", "The Resistance lives!".

Rey looked at Quay; despite feeling her control grow weaker, she still couldn't sense any real opposition to her control over him. Maybe this would work. Maybe, just maybe, the horrible thing she had done in the cantina could be put to a good use.

Maybe she could be the Jedi Nemesis.

"Unlock my handcuffs, give me your lightsaber and command them to stop." She said quietly, but with a steel intent. Quay did as he was told with no reluctance. Troopers, however, all reacted with understandable alarm. Suddenly the twenty blasters were pointed at her.

Rey knew she only had seconds to act, before the cameras in the soldiers' bucket helmets would process the data and automatically request a back-up. Holding Quay's lightsaber pointed at his throat, she closed her eyes and shifted all her attention to the Stormtroopers.

Freed, Quay took a sharp, desperate breath; someone screamed in terror, but all of it appeared distant as Rey allowed the Force to flow through her. It turned the blood in her veins into something else, something cold and tranquil and it emanated from her onto the soldiers exactly the moment they were firing their blasters.

They still did.

Except, instead of killing the Jedi Nemesis, they killed each other.

The street fell silent, humans and aliens of all kinds looked as if unable to comprehend what had just taken place. The unthinkable had happened. Rey took the opportunity and spoke in a loud, clear voice: "People of Sullust, you have called me Jedi Nemesis! Know that I will do everything to live up to this name! First Order will be defeated!"

"First Order will end you all!" Quay bellowed, but Rey moved the lightsaber closer to his metal collar. "One more word and I'll burn this little thing that lets you breathe!" she barked.

"He is right, though!" she addressed the crowd again, "First Order _will_ come back and will make you pay, even though you did nothing – it was _I_ who killed their soldiers, I alone!" With these words, Rey searched the area for where any cameras could be located. She noticed one straight away and looked right at it. In case someone would later watch through the footage, which she knew he would. "But this is what the First Order does! They make innocent people pay and pay, and keep on paying, even when there is nothing left to pay with!" A murmur of approval ran through the crowd, "I don't stand a chance alone against the First Order, neither does Resistance! _No one_ will stand chance until people of the galaxy, people like you, realise you can refuse to pay. And fight instead!"

A ferocious roar of applause erupted in the street, and, before Rey could do anything about it, people threw themselves at the bodies of the Stormtroopers, tearing down their armours and not stopping there. Quay and Rey stared at it in an equal shock. All it took was a few words from her to make the mob insane.

"This is how much they hate you." She told Quay and dragged him through the swarm towards the docking bay. No one stopped her. In fact, people moved out of her way. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a squadron of Stormtroopers approaching – and a massive wave of angry citizens running to meet them.

"Get in, quick!" she ordered Quay, when they finally reached his ship. It was smaller than Rey had expected, almost as small as Ash Angel; something she was grateful for. The smaller the ship, the easier to pass unnoticed. She pushed Quay ahead of her. He was visibly exhausted now, his breath hissing through the tubes of the collar. She must have damaged it with the saber after all.

"You will never get clearance codes now!" Quay stammered, as she pushed him towards the ship's cockpit. "The planet must be on a lockdown already! Your dumb stunt didn't work!"

Rey regarded him coldly. Fear in his eyes told her he already knew what was coming.

"My stunt worked fine, but then you, being such a skilled Knight of Ren, overpowered me and here we are aboard your ship, on which you will now escort me to your Supreme Leader, who will give you the clearance codes himself." Rey said with a smile. Quay winced and tilted his head. He couldn't fight her any longer. Breathing itself was taking up most of his energy. "Let's get it over with," he said quietly and Rey felt an unexpected ping of guilt for breaking this man so completely.

 _Get a grip_ , she told herself, _you need to get off this planet before they call your bluff!_

"Put me in the handcuffs, but do not lock them," she ordered and as Quay obliged her words, she carried on, "Request a direct transmission to the Supreme Leader to tell him that you have captured the fugitive he had asked you to. Your mission is complete. Yes, you had troubles on the way, you lost your soldiers, but you managed to defeat me and you are ready to leave the planet now. Here I stand, as your proof, handcuffed and defenceless. You need to hurry, though, before the angry mob I had provoked will locate you and shoot your ship down."

She watched Quay absorb her commands. It was nothing short of terrifying to have such power of another being. Some part of her felt that, perhaps, Ben had been right back then, in Snoke's throne room, when he said all of this should end – the Jedi, the Sith, Snoke, Skywalker. Perhaps, the galaxy was better without anyone holding such dominance over others.

But then, the galaxy would be better without the First Order, too. Something Ben was not willing to understand.

She positioned herself one step in front of Quay, as he requested a direct line transmission to the Supreme Leader. She focused all her silent attention on Quay. She couldn't see his face anymore, since they were both facing the holovid transmitter, so she had to make sure her control would not weaver even for a second. This was the trickiest part of her hastily established plan.

The one she was most likely to fail at.

Gods knew, she had been losing her cool around the Supreme Leader - every single time.

Although she knew she would see Ben on the holovid transmission, she was not prepared. When his face appeared on the holovid, Rey's heart did a little dance in her chest, as if trying to break free. She wished she could give herself a solid slap for such a silly reaction. Ben, on the other hand, looked perfectly composed. It occurred to her that she should have ordered Quay to kneel in front of his superior, but it was too late for that.

"Supreme Leader, I have captured the fugitive you have asked me to. My mission is complete." Quay recited in a breaking voice. His breathing apparat was definitely malfunctioning.

Ben's flickering image stared at Quay in unnerving silence. Rey felt like her head was going to explode. How was she supposed to keep control over Quay, when Ben was there?

"Why do you sound like… _that_ , soldier?" Ben asked. Rey panicked. Wisely, Ben did not specify what he meant, not really. He could have been concerned about Quay's weak voice, but, just as well, he could be suspicious of the way his subordinate talked: lifeless and droid-like.

"Did you think I went down without a fight?!" Rey barged in, her voice a little shaky. She had to distract Ben, otherwise he would see right through Quay and her utterly stupid – she could see that now - plan. She could only hope that she was enough of a distraction.

"Did I allow you to speak, _prisoner_?" Ben turned his attention to her. He sounded indifferent, but there was the slightest undertone to his voice, as if he was working really hard to restrain himself from showing any emotions.

"Supreme Leader," Quay spoke, his voice still raspy and detached, "Yes, I had troubles on the way, I lost my soldiers, but I managed to defeat this criminal and I am ready to leave the planet now."

Ben did not answer. The holovid flickered in front of them for what seemed like forever. Rey was certain he could hear her heart pounding. She had to escape, but with every passing moment she had less and less faith she would.

"Here she stands, as your proof, Supreme Leader, handcuffed and defenceless," Quay finished his speech, "We need to hurry, though, before the angry mob she had provoked will locate and shoot my ship down."

Ben was not even looking at his subordinate anymore. He stared at Ray with unreadable expression in his face. It crossed her mind that, even if he captured her, there was a small chance he'd spare her life. After all, he had hidden her in that Kubazian's apartment, even though he could have captured her. Rey still couldn't quite comprehend that.

"The planet is on lockdown already, Supreme Leader," unexpectedly, a voice of General Hux could be heard on the holovid. Rey stopped breathing. This could be her chance. If Ben wasn't alone at the other end of the transmission, he could not admit knowing she had control over his knight. Not really. Not without risking his reputation. Rey was sure it hadn't been Hux's call to send a Knight of Ren to retrieve her. The general was known from his cruel and completely over the top methods – sending one person after her would seem like a pathetic half-measure to him.

Which, ultimately, it had been.

"I am aware of that, General," Ben answered in a harsh tone, his eyes not leaving Rey's for a moment, "Transmit the clearance codes to Quay's ship at once."

"With pleasure, sir," Hux said just before the holovid transmission ended, "And then we shall proceed to annihilate this laughable rebellion."

Rey wanted to sigh with relief, but there was no time for that. Her heart ached at the thought of what would happen to the innocent people in the city, but she knew there was nothing more she could do.

In the end, she would be guilty of even more lives taken, it was naïve to think otherwise. She could only hope that the recording of her speech would spread and make people want to act against the First Order.

If Ben decides to annihilate the city for that, Rey thought, he will give others all the more reasons to fight back.

Rey shook off her handcuffs and pushed Quay towards the cockpit of the ship. "We need to get out of here, now" she said. She watched him receive the codes and confirm their status. As the ship took off and they surged through the azure waters of an enormous lake before they broke into the atmosphere, Rey allowed herself one last enchanted look at the beautiful planet. Just one moment of child-like rapture, before she reminded herself that soon, this city's streets would be awash with innocent blood.

Because of her.

She glanced at Quay. He was sitting in co-pilot's chair, silent and unsmiling. Sweat was rolling down his forehead and he struggled to take any deeper breath. Rey was deeply uncomfortable with what she was doing to him, but she knew, if she hadn't, he would do the same to her.

Once they broke through the atmosphere, into the planet's orbit, Rey told Quay to walk towards the ship's escape pods. She took his lightsaber and ceased her control over him. The moment she did that, he fell to his knees and wept.

She stared at him, paralysed.

"It will be better if you kill me," he told her, his eyes flickering between her and the escape pods. Rey knew he was right, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. _You didn't seem to have a problem before,_ her conscience snapped, but she ignored it.

"Just get inside!" she pushed Quay into one of the escape pods, despite his protests and curses. When she locked the pod's hatch, she took one last look at the man's pained face. There was rage in his eyes, yes, of course. This was to be expected. But there was also so much aching. She knew he was the enemy. He would kill her without thinking twice.

She also knew she would never forget this look in his face. It would haunt her forever.

Rey released the escape pod and without further delay headed back to the cockpit. She set up the course to planet Eadu and launched the jump into hyperspace.

As the stars blurred into thin blue lines, Rey finally allowed herself to let go. She hid her face in her hands and cried until she could cry no more.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Please let me know your thoughts! This was another "tactical" chapter, mainly of Ray trying to get out of another crappy situation, but it cannot be all smut and kisses (ok, I know there was only one kiss so far! There might be more, though! Stay tuned)**

 **Thank you again xx**


	11. Chapter 011: The Supreme Leader

**A/N: Hi my lovely readers – here's another chapter of the crazy little fanfic that I'm writing. Took me forever, but here it is. it's the longest chapter so far, but I just didn't want to split it, coz the beginning has a lot of set up for what happens at the end (isn't this, like, the most ground-breaking description of a chapter, EVER?). Hopefully, you'll find the end rewarding and, hopefully, you'll like it! Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer – all of the recognisable characters and locations belong to their respective owners. I own only the plot.**

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Chapter 010 – The Supreme Leader

He barely tolerated Hux. Just barely. Truth be told, Ben knew he should have replaced the annoying general by now; there were at least ten other high ranking officers more than capable of doing Hux's job. So, why hadn't he done it yet? Was it purely because Hux's hatred and fanaticism, which even Snoke had seen, made him predictable, and, therefore, easy to manage?

 _Maybe I'm just sloppy_ , Ben thought with a pang of shame. He had all this power, and he had paid hefty price to be where he was. He could do a little better.

But it was just so difficult to focus, to think of anything else than _her_ lips. It had been difficult before, but, now, after he'd taste them, it was nearly damn impossible.

Still, he had an empire to run.

And Hux was, as usually, ruining everything with his short-sightedness.

"What did you just say?" Ben asked through clenched teeth. He hoped Hux would have enough sense to take back his words. They were standing on the bridge of one of their Super Star Destroyers, surrounded by multiple officers and Ben really did not want to come across as emotionally unstable in front of all of them. Even if they had already their minds made up, after his antics on Krait. There was simply no room for more errors. Even if he was barely holding it together.

The truth was, he was perfectly aware that Quay had been mind-controlled by Rey. He had never seen anyone, neither Skywalker, nor even Snoke, being able to control another person to such extent. Witnessing Rey doing it so, it would seem, effortlessly, made him both terrified and jealous. Despite all that, he was relieved to see her unharmed.

He also couldn't stop staring. Rey was just so beautiful that even her flickering, blue image on the holovid was making Ben's thoughts go a bit fuzzy. When he had been doing his best to seem indifferent an authoritative, while listening to Quay reciting Rey's commands, Ben realised that he never really even had the time to calmly think about all that had happened between him and Rey since that time Snoke had assumed he had them all figured out.

It had occurred to him that he should be grateful to Snoke. It was the old troll, after all, who had bridged his and Rey's minds. If only he could see what use they put this connection to.

Snoke had been right about one more thing, too. "The Dark rises, and the Light to meet it." He had said those words minutes before his ultimate demise, but they were proving themselves to be true. Rey's powers were astonishing.

 _Perhaps I should step up and prove I'm just as powerful,_ Ben thought with disdain. He had never doubted his own powers until now. He had often wondered whether they should be offered to the Dark of the Light side, but never doubted the power itself. As he had looked at Quay's pained expression and as he listened to words escaping his mouth in disturbing monotone, he came to conclusion that he'd become stagnant, trusting in Snoke's training, but nothing more.

He knew he would never see Quay again. He wasn't yet quite sure how to feel about _that_. Quay had been his ally since the days of Skywalker's doomed Jedi school. He had fought alongside Ben in too many battles to count. It was quite different to watch Rey make twenty – twenty! – anonymous Stormtroopers basically commit suicide in the middle of the crowded street, and to watch his friend being completely broken by her. Ben was under no illusion that Rey was going to kill Quay once she got past the planet's lockdown points.

He was also painfully aware that Quay would be alive, had Ben not hidden Rey from the search party after they had made that warehouse exploded. Or had the explosion been purely her doing? He still wasn't sure. Did he regret saving her? Not really, no.

Was he in a state of mind good enough to deal with Hux's ridiculous ideas? Hell, no.

"We shall proceed to annihilate this laughable rebellion." Hux recited with his usual smugness. Ben was not surprised. What else to expect from a man who had devoted his life to create something as grotesque as the Starkiller base? If Hux could have things his way, he would keep fighting until there was not a single being left in the galaxy to kill.

Ben, on the other hand, was the son of one of the finest politicians in the galaxy.

"Go ahead, annihilate all you want," he said, looking Hux straight in the eye, "Do it, and tomorrow every single person in this city will support the Resistance."

"We do nothing then?" Hux raised an eyebrow at him and sneered, "Great strategy, Supreme Leader."

It took all Ben's strength not to throw Hux across the room.

"Did I say we do nothing, general?" he asked, and before Hux could say anything, he continued, "No, but, of course, you jumped to conclusions, which are, frankly speaking, treasonous."

"My lord, I…." Hux tried to interrupt, but Ben focused his attention on him and effectively shut him up. He took pleasure in seeing first shock, then grave understanding in Hux's eyes. Maybe, he thought, is not as difficult as it seems, to control others this way, without any verbal command or gesture.

"I would not expect you to grasp the political potential of this situation, Hux," he said. The bridge was dead quiet; everyone was listening to him. After the fiasco on Krait, Ben knew he had to show them he was the leader they needed. Even if he, himself, did not feel as such.

"We will not play to this rebel's hands. We will not be predictable. And we will not turn Sullust against us any more than they already are. In fact," he looked around the room and was glad to see officers nodding in approval, "We will make Sullust more of an ally than it was before."

Ben turned to Hux. Drops of sweat appeared on general's pale forehead, as he was struggling to speak, but couldn't. _You want to talk?_ Ben thought, _Oh, I will make you talk._

"You are right, Supreme Leader Ren," Hux stammered against his will, "This is an incredibly wise move, which I wouldn't have thought of. I shall arrange the meeting with Sullust governor immediately."

Ben regarded Hux with a smirk. General's face was scowled in barely tamed anger, but his eyes were still frightened. Hatred was emanating from the general, but Ben did not let the Force's grip loosen as he made him leave the bridge. After Snoke's death, he had almost asphyxiated Hux. Clearly, this wasn't enough of a lesson. Ben would make sure Hux knew dying was the best that can happen to him.

 **xxXXxx**

Rey stood knee-deep in a freezing water of a mountain stream and watched in silent terror as her ship was being swept away but a massive mudslide. She had been lucky beyond reason to have left the ship mere minutes before. All she had planned to do was to scout the area and then to get back inside and get some sleep. She had thought the ship was hidden well in between tall, sharp rocks.

Maybe it was, she thought as it was being crushed by tons of mud and rocks. Maybe a little too well.

Rain on Eadu was not pleasant at all. It was freezing cold and smelled of fetid soil. The clouds were so thick that it was impossible to say whether it was day or night. The only source of light were blue lightning bolts crossing the sky every few minutes, followed by deafening roars of thunder. Rey had never seen more unwelcoming place.

Eadu made her miss the perfect, always painfully clear sky of Jakku. Would she ever see another scorching sunset over the dunes?

 _Not likely_ , she thought as the ship disappeared under the mud. _Looks like I'm staying here for a while._

Before landing, which hadn't been easy to say the least, Rey had noticed a cluster of villages and decided to stay away, in case this remote planet also heard about the price on her head. Now, trudging through a slippery, rocky hillside, she regretted this decision. She would give everything for a dry bed and warmth of fire.

Few times, in the pale light of thunderbolts, she thought she saw Master Luke's silhouette in distance, but he seemed to disappear when she looked again. She could only hope it was Luke and not some glowing monster from Eadu. She had no idea what kind of creatures lived in this planet and she wasn't looking forward to finding out.

After hours of marching, Rey was completely soaked and tired to the bone. She was grateful that at least the Jedi books were safe in the water-resistant backpack she'd found on Quay's ship, but, between the books and the weapons she'd found there, too, it was a heavy lift. And the rain did not seem to want to stop.

When she reached a top of one of the less steep hills, Rey sat down to take a breath. She was exhausted and, frankly, she had no clue where she was going. The village lights, wherever they were, could not be seen in between the tall spires of rocks and mountains. Her portable scanner was not picking up any life forms apart from what must have been small vermin or birds. Thick rain did not improve visibility of anything. For all she knew, she could be actually walking away from the village, not towards it.

It was a stupid idea to come here. She should have taken the longer way and gone to Jedha.

Of course, she knew this was never going to happen. Quay's ship hadn't had enough of fuel for such a long flight. If she really wanted to find some Kyber crystals for a new lightsaber, Eadu was her only choice.

 _And it will be my grave_ , she reflected with exasperation.

As soon as she thought this, a gentle voice somewhere around her said: "Use the Force, Rey. Let it guide you."

Scared, she jumped to her feet and reached for her blaster, but even as she was pointing it at the darkness around her, she knew – it was Luke's voice she'd heard.

"Well, it's not like I have any better ideas," she muttered and took a deep breath to steady herself. She closed her eyes and allowed Force flow through her. The beating of her heart slowed down and, somehow, became louder than the rain. And the rain, it no longer sounded like a swoosh. As she focused on the Force, Rey began to hear each raindrop hitting the ground separately, each with its unique tone.

It was almost like music.

For the briefest moment she saw a glimpse of Leia deep in worry sitting alone at a table somewhere and, as the image cleared in Rey's head, Leia suddenly looked up.

Taken aback, Rey took a rapid step back and slipped. Her concentration broke, but she managed to stop herself inches from the ground. As she stood up, she wondered how did she even know how to do it, to prevent herself from hitting the rocks, just like whenever she had reached for the lightsaber and it would just fly into her hand, obedient to her will. There was so much about the Force she did not understand. Like, for instance, seeing general Leia and – Rey was certain of that – being seen by her. Or, if not technically "seen", because it was nothing like the experience of being connected through the Force with Ben, then, somehow, _felt_ through the distance of millions light miles.

Still, she was no closer to figuring out which way to go.

"Rey, let go of your doubts and let the Force guide you, like you did on Sullust." Luke's voice, eerily clear, came through the downpour again. Rey crinkled her nose at the thought of Luke seeing _everything_ she had been up to on Sullust, but she compelled herself to clear her mind again and focus on finding shelter.

As the raindrops turned to harmonious melody, again, Rey felt a soft pull towards one of the hills. She didn't quite understand it, she couldn't see what was there, but she followed it, trusting in the Force.

She marched for what seemed like ages, but her exhaustion actually faded away. As she walked focused on the gentle guidance of the Force, the ache she had felt in her muscles diminished, but any time her concentration broke, was it by a sudden, unexplained noise, or by her own thoughts, mostly about the kiss that never should have happened, the fatigue and ache hit her with a new wave. It was only logical to let the Force take it all away, whatever destination it was guiding her to.

After climbing one of the hilltops, she saw a cluster of faint lights in a meadow below. Not many of them. It looked like a remote village, not like the settlements she had seen from her ship, but it would have to do.

When she reached the bottom of the hill, Rey realised the place was not as small as it had looked from afar. It had perhaps fifteen buildings, but buzzed with activity. She could see the ships in a small, dimly lit docking bay and people walking the few tiny streets. Somewhere in the dark nerfs were bellowing. The village even had its own cantina and this was where Rey decided to go.

The cantina was a striking contrast to its gloomy surroundings. It was bright and warm and filled mostly humans and a few Zabraks here and there. There was even a tiny scene with three Biths playing a song that sounded completely out of place, at least to Rey. A small crowd gathered near the scene and attempted dancing, but it was no easy task given how crowded the place was.

Rey headed for the bar and asked for whatever the cheapest warm drink they had. She had found some credits on Quay's ship, but she knew better than to spend them too quickly.

"You're new around here," the bartender said, regarding her coldly. He was an old, hunched man, the type that looked like a harmless grandpa _and_ seasoned killer at the same time. Rey just shrugged. So much for passing unnoticed. Yet, it was hardly surprising. In a place like this you start recognising all the locals within a few days and she couldn't imagine why anyone would willingly come here.

"One of the Kyber fanatics, huh?" the bartender asked before she managed to come up with any valid response. She decided to go along with it, especially, that, technically, it wasn't even a lie.

"Yeah, some people pay well for this stuff," she said, as the bartender handed her a cup with steaming drink. She took a sip and immediately burnt her tongue. "Do you know where I can rent a room?" she asked.

"Most of you Kyber freaks tend to just sleep on your own ships," the bartender raised an eyebrow at her. Rey figured there was no point lying.

"I'd be happy to, but my ship got drowned in a mudslide," she said. From the look of the cantina and the kind of people in it, Rey deducted that the First Order was not exactly popular here, so, perhaps, it was good no one would know what kind of ship she had arrived in.

"Ah, haha!" The bartender laughed sternly, "You must have landed on the Northern Badlands. That's a real graveyard of ships, there, I tell you!"

Rey did not answer. She kept blowing at her cup to cool down the drink. She didn't realise how cold and hungry she was until she entered the cantina. When the drink cooled down a bit, she gulped it down within seconds. It had peculiar taste, a bit like Bantha gravy mixed with Jakku Nectar. She didn't want to know what it was. Still, she felt the warmth spreading throughout her, which made her happy beyond words and immediately she raised a cup to the bartender, asking for another round.

"Ignorant fools, those who don't bother to learn about the planet before coming here," the bartender continued, as he poured her another drink, "Northern Badlands are the worst place to choose, if you ask me."

 _I'm not asking you, am I_ , Rey thought, but didn't argue with the old man. "So, no rooms to rent around here?" she repeated her question, hoping not to sound impolite.

"We've got some," the barman said, while pouring Jawa Juice to an already drunk couple sitting next to Rey, "Not many and usually all rented out. You're lucky, girl, coz yesterday one of the gambling fools got killed for his debts to the wrong kind of crowd. Throat slit in the middle of my cantina! Blood everywhere and I have just put a new paint and flooring! No respect for hard-working people, if you ask me!" The bartender shook his head and seemed to dwell on this unpleasant memory. "His room is the only one available."

"I'll take it," Rey beamed at the old man and soon enough she was following one of the kitchen helpers – a girl, who couldn't be more than twelve standard years – into a tiny room at the back of the cantina building. It was on the first floor and there was barely any space between bed and walls, but it was warm and quiet.

It also had a shower cabin.

 **xxXXxx**

Ben was only mildly tired, which came to him as a surprise. He had been Force-controlling Hux for entirety of talks with Sullust governor and he had expected it to completely exhaust him. He had feared it would make him slow and reactionary, as much as it was making Hux quiet and humble, but that hadn't been the case.

The Dark rises, and the Light to meet it. It made perfect sense.

Throughout the entire negotiations, he made himself feel the emotions and intentions of all the participants and, he had to admit it, it had made all the difference. Even if the governor and his advisors will start second-guessing their treaty with the First Order, it will be too late. The terms of the treaty would be impossible to break without risking the life of the governor's young son, who was to be kept at the First Order service, in training to become one of the leading commanders once he reaches adulthood.

Fancy way of saying he was nothing but a hostage, really.

And, since he was the governor's only son, Ben knew the accord would be followed. In case, however, that wasn't enough, the First Order took ten other children of prominent politicians of Sullust under its massive wings. All for the brighter future.

As cruel as this move seemed, Ben knew that the treaty helped him avoid a much bigger problem. The footage of Rey's antics made it more than clear that the people of Sullust were not happy. Quite the opposite. They were full of rage and frustration. Ben had seen this scenario once in his life already, when he was just a boy, before his parents sent him away to Skywalker. He had seen people frustrated with the system joining the Resistance.

He would not have it again. He would rather be called a coward by Hux and the likes. The First Order no longer had the Starkiller base, Snoke's prime destroyer had also been long gone, so it was wiser to lean on politics whenever possible rather than to smother people with the army, that could be – as everyone saw on the recent footage – so easily defeated.

All it took was one girl with the Force running through her veins.

A girl who, at this very moment, was standing under a searing hot shower.

Ben didn't register the exact moment the Force connected them, the sensation of the air being sucked out of the room must have become too familiar. Or, perhaps, had just become welcomed. Perhaps, he longed for it.

 _Perhaps?! Who are you trying to kid here_? Ben thought as he stared at the steamy walls of a small shower cabin. He heard the hum of the running water. It must have been burning hot, because he could not see through the steam filling the cabin at all.

He knew he was interrupting something he shouldn't, but he couldn't look away. Part of him wished he knew how to break this Force connection, but another part of him was afraid to move – or even breathe – in case it actually would break it.

He held his breath, when he saw Rey's hand on the shower wall. She wiped the steam away, just a little, and he saw her face. She stared at him in surprise, but, inexplicably, he sensed no anger from her. What he sensed was a mixture of so many so conflicting emotions that, even if anger was somewhere in the mix, he wouldn't know.

Ben thought that he understood this hellish confusion, this combination of everything that Rey felt. Her mere proximity, even if only through the Force, gave him the most peculiar sensation. Something between feeling like finally he was home, and like he will always be lost, searching for her through the vastness of the galaxy until his very last breath.

Her lips were slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something but words wouldn't escape her mouth. Ben could see the drops of water on her long lashes. Her cheeks were deep pink and strands of her wet hair were stuck to the side of her forehead. She looked like one of these mythical creatures Mon Calamari claimed lived in the deepest reaches of their endless ocean. No one had ever caught, or even recorded any of them, but they were rumoured to be beautiful beyond measure. They would lead anyone foolish enough to approach them to a certain death. The victims would happily die, mesmerised by their beauty.

Ben knew that he, too, would gladly die, if this was what it took to hold her in his arms one more time.

When the flow of water came to an abrupt end, Ben found himself gripped by sudden panic. She was just a few steps away, completely naked, and it was intoxicating to the point of madness, but he was an intruder. She had every right to actually get angry.

"Do you have something – a cowl, or something, you can put on?" he asked, hoping to defuse the situation with some humour, although, he doubted she would remember the words she said to him that night when they spoke during one of their first Force connections.

"As a matter of fact, I do," said Ray. Ben could hear the smile in her voice. He saw her tug on the towel hung over the shower. That was when he realised he must be dreaming. He was about to see her wrapped in nothing but a towel. Surely, this couldn't be actually happening. He was definitely going to wake up any minute now.

And yet, there she was standing in front of him. Her slim body was tightly wrapped in a pale blue towel; water was dripping from her hair onto her exposed arms. Ben could actually feel the warmth emanating from her and, still, _still_ he couldn't believe this wasn't a dream. Her eyes drilled into him in a way that made him more alive than he had ever been, even if it was just a dream. It also made him want to die, because – dream or reality – he was the Supreme Leader and she was the Jedi Nemesis and they could never, ever have what they both saw that night on Ahch-To.

It took all Ben's strength not to grab her by the arms and force a kiss on her perfect mouth.

But, then, nothing they did had been forced so far. Sure, the whole concept had been forced on them by Snoke, but nothing else since. As he looked into Rey's strangely dark eyes, he realised, again, as shocked as every time, that she wanted this, she wanted him. Against all reason and hope.

Rey drew nearer and her eyes fell on Ben's lips, and he knew he had been captured by this mythical ocean creature and he would be lead to his death. Just like in the legend, he was happy to die. He leaned in slowly, almost reluctantly, and kissed her.

As soon as her impossibly warm lips melted into his, he wrapped his arms around her, still, despite everything, afraid she might change her mind. When his hands stroke her naked back, she arched into him, tightening her own grip on his back. Her touch felt as if it was burning through his shirt. Everything felt as if it was on fire, their lips, the air their shared, the whole world.

Her tongue traced his, timidly, at first, only to get devoured by this fire they had awaken and give in completely.

How was this possible he still hadn't woken up?

When, at last, they broke the kiss, both equally out of breath, Rey rested her forehead against his chin and whispered: "See, this is what you should have done, when _I_ asked if you had a cowl to cover up."

She looked up at him and smiled and Ben knew he was no longer the Supreme Leader. Or, perhaps, he was only now becoming one.

* * *

 **A/N: Please, please, please let me know your thoughts! And, as always, thank you for taking time to read this little fanfic (although can you say it's a little fanfic when you're on chapter 11 and it's not even the half-way through….?). It means a lot to know that someone out there actually got up to this point!**

 **Thanks! xx**


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